Ribbons of Fate
by dragonwing71
Summary: Back in Asteria, everything seems peaceful. Until one girl finds out just how much her "family" has been keeping from her. Not to mention that something's making its haunting appearance on the horizon... Anima fanfic
1. A Walk in the Woods

The forest was still and quiet as can be.

Not even a single footstep on the spring leaves could disturb its silent composure.

The stream slithered through the center of the area, glistening in the warm sunlight. Birds swung around in the air, as squirrels chattered as they scampered up tree trunks and into their dens.

A large stag walked gracefully to the stream. He held his horns proudly in the air like a trophy. His black eyes were alert for danger at any moment, flickering from one thing to the next.

Finally, he dipped his head down to the water's surface. Ripples went out in all directions as his muzzle made contact with the sheet of clear blue.

Suddenly, a sharp _ping _sounded off in the forest, as an arrow zoomed through the air like a bullet.

The stag raised his head, only to have his neck pierced by the threat. A trail of blood trickled out of the wound, before the stag gave out one bellow, before toppling over onto the earth below.

The hunter soon walked out of their hiding place; a row of dark green bushes.

Their auburn hair bobbed behind them in a tightly-tied pony tail, a cap holding it in place.

As soon as the hunter was crouched over their kill, they removed their cap to reveal a beautiful, 15 year old girl's face.

The girl, known as Faith, stared down at the stag, taking in its features. On hunts, she never really paid attention to the condition of her kill, but to how big it was.

The stag had finely tuned muscles, wound tightly around the bones and intestines. _That's good, thick meat. _Faith thought as she made a mental check in her head.

Her eyes wondered over to its horns. They were thick, with a light ivory tint to them. She wrapped her hands around its horns, place one foot on its neck so that it wouldn't move, and tugged on them. They wouldn't budge an inch, and didn't make a sound.

_That's good too… _She thought with a smile, _that means more tools for the shack._

And finally, she placed her hands on the stag's hide. She ran her hands over its warm curve, stopping to just feel how soft it was.

She sighed. "Well, I'd better get him back to the farm…" Faith said out loud.

Grabbing onto both front legs of the deer, she pulled on it, twisting around so that the carcass would lean over her shoulder.

She huffed out a breath as she realized it was too heavy. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she tried again.

She was slightly shocked to realize that the load had lightened. Pulling a bit more, she felt the stag's chest against her shoulder, while the rest of its boy was dragging behind her.

She reached back to grab its back legs so that she could swing it around her shoulders.

Nothing came to her hand.

"Come on…" Faith mumbled through gritted teeth. She reached farther and was shocked to feel not the cold feel of hooves, but the warm curve of a hand.

She gave out a shocked gasp, before dropping the stag entirely and scooping up her bow. She readied an arrow and whipped around, the tip pointed straight forward.

A boy, looking around the age that Faith was, stood there. He was dressed in farm clothes like hers, only with whiter clothe than hers. His hair was a light blonde color, like the color of the sun's rays as it reached down to the earth below, while his eyes were a soft blue that matched any stream.

The boy grinned. "Hi!" He said in a casual tone, showing no fear in the hunting girl with the readied bow in front of him. He gave a little laugh, before saying, "I didn't know girls could hunt!" He turned to the stag. "And, man! I didn't know they could catch something this big!"

Faith cocked an eyebrow. "Are you trying to say that girls can't do what boys do?" She'd talked to many boys in the village, and they all had the same joking tone as this boy. They all said the same thing over and over; 'Pfft! Girls can never be as good as _boys_!' and 'Come _on_! Girls were obviously made to sew our clothes and cook our food! While us _boys _hunt and fish!' It was the same thing, over and over again…

And Faith was sick of it.

The boy just grinned. "Oh sure," He said playfully, "I'm one of those idiots who travels around in forests making fun of girls!" He laughed before stepping towards Faith.

Faith took a quick step back, jerking the bow upwards.

The boy stopped in his tracks. "Honestly, do you think that I would hurt you?"

Faith hesitated. It was true, this stranger had no weapons on him, and he didn't look like the murderous type.

But Helga had taught her that even the most innocent looking people could have something shoved up their sleeves.

Faith jerked the bow up once more, positioning the arrow so that it would pierce his shoulder to just distract him.

"Well, apparently I should have introduced myself." The boy finally said as he let his hands drop carelessly to his side. "The name's Kesh."

Faith slowly lowered her bow. Sighing, she said, "Faith."

Kesh smiled. "Faith, huh? So, 'Faith,' what is a girl like you doing out here instead of inside of her house like a normal girl?"

She ignored him and turned back to her stag. "Well, apparently I'm not a normal girl." She said softly.

Silence filled the forest before she heard Kesh's voice again. Only he was right in front of her this time.

"R-really?" He asked quietly. "A-are you truly?"

Faith cocked an eyebrow. _What kind of a weirdo is this kid? _She thought to herself. She gripped onto the stag's front legs, before hefting it over her shoulder once more.

"Here, let me help you with that!" Kesh said. He grabbed onto the hind legs of the carcass, before putting it over her other shoulder.

As soon as the stag was securely around her neck, she stooped down and scooped up her bow. "So tell me," She said as she stood up again, "is it just your hobby to walk around woods and help out girls that are having trouble?"

Kesh laughed, walking forward. "No, not really. I was just out for a walk, y'know?" He ran his fingers through his golden hair. "Fresh air does you good, like they always say!"

Faith just gave off a crooked grin, glad that the awkward 'not a normal kid' subject was dropped.

Silence enveloped them once more.

It would have continued longer, if Kesh hadn't said, "So, um… what did you mean by you not being a normal girl?"

Faith was silent for a moment, before saying, "When I was a baby, I was found on the Nightingale's doorstep."

"Wait, you mean Helga and Greg Nightingale?!" He interrupted. He gave out a short chuckle. "My parents always buy crops from them due to how well they grow them!"

Faith was silent. These memories weren't considered happy to her.

Kesh finally calmed down, realizing that his audience wasn't getting as much fun out of it as him. "So… you were just found there?"

Faith just nodded, not feeling like explaining it over again. "It was storming that night, and dawn was rising." Her eyes gave a far off look as she recalled this from her childhood 15 years ago. "Twilight was descending to where it would be no more. I was wrapped in a lavender cloth, according to Helga, and I was sobbing like another rain storm.

"Then, Greg apparently heard me and found me lying there in the gloom. He had scooped me up and given me to Helga." Faith grinned. "She smiled at me as if I was her own, and so did Greg. They took me inside and fed, bathed, and took care of me."

She looked down to the earth. "But the one thing that they thought was weird, was that when they undressed me to bathe me, I had a strange marking traveling down my spine; they were three dark birth marks in the shape of three claw marks, ending in one graceful twist to where it mimicked a tail."

Faith paused, unsure if Kesh was breathing or not.

She turned to her walking companion. He was staring at her with wide eyes, large pools of blue crystal.

She turned her head away. _Jeez, this dude is weird! _She thought.

"Um… so… that's it?" Kesh's voice spoke up. His voice sounded softer than usual, as if he was trying to hold the moment in a dramatic grasp.

Faith just nodded. The ground soon sloped downward to where it overlooked a farm. Dense smoke coiled out of the wooden chimney like a thick snake. Chickens clucked from the coop in the back. Cows grazed on the lush earth that surrounded the area, their hooves placing imprints in the soil.

Faith smiled. Home.

"Well, this is where we part." Faith said, already trotting forward.

"Yeah… bye!" Kesh said.

Faith suddenly thought about how lonely she had been on hunts, and how grateful she was when Kesh arrived to talk to her and give her company.

She turned back to ask if she would ever see him again, but he was already gone. Not a trace was left.


	2. Alone

… **I've been WAY TOO lazy to put author's notes, so now I'm doing them! Reviews please!**

------

In no sooner than a few minutes, Faith was down at the house, delivering her kill for the day.

In no time, Greg lumbered out of the cottage. His size seemed to be growing larger and rounder with each passing month. Helga and Faith had both lectured him about health issues and how much lazier he has become. But he just ignores them with the wave of a rounded hand, before doing whatever he was doing.

"So, what did you catch this time?" Greg asked as he stopped by the table that the stag had been set upon. His wily eyes overlooked the animal before saying, "Hmm, a stag…. Good work!" He clapped Faith on the back in a congratulatory way; like he would a son.

Faith just smiled, pulling out her hunting knife. "It wasn't a hard kill," She said, "It didn't notice me." She didn't even mention Kesh.

Greg nodded. "Good, good. I'll take it from here, Helga is inside." He slowly picked his own knife off of the bench.

Faith just shrugged as he began to skin the animal. "Ok…" She said. Personally, she'd never really liked hanging out with Helga. It wasn't that Helga was a bad person or anything, it was the fact that Helga liked to make Faith act girly to no end. She'd have her dress in new dresses that she'd make, help sow, and even bake. Baking was an OK subject, but trying on stuff? No. Just no….

The door creaked as she entered the cottage. A happy gasp reached her ears. "Welcome back!" Helga said, wrapping her arms around Faith's thin shape. Helga always made a big deal about when Faith came back, mainly because she feared that Faith would get shot by another hunter in the woods.

Soon enough, enough air was squeezed out of her lungs to make her gasp, "Yeah, I'm back…" Her voice trailed off as she tried to conserve her air.

Helga soon released, the pressure subsided. "Well, you're just in time! I'm right now making rolls, care to join?"

Faith pressed her tongue to her cheek, unable to force out the word 'No.'

Helga just sighed, watching Faith's movements. "You don't want to bake with me, do you?"

Faith's eyebrows rose. "No! It's just… I'm _very _tired at the moment so…" She glanced at the small room that was officially hers. "I'm going to bed!"

Before waiting for a reply, she hurriedly walked to the room, tossing herself onto the bed when she entered.

Deer skins and sewn cloths soon enveloped her. She sighed as she flipped onto her back. Memories of the day's walk flitted before her eyes; Kesh's face, his reaction to her saying that she was 'different', and especially when she'd finished her story and he had stared at her like some lost little boy.

She rolled her eyes and rolled back on her stomach. _Cut it out, Faith. He was just a boy, a very odd one… _Her mind whispered.

Her eyes slowly slid shut, letting her be sectioned off to this dark room that only she was in.

---

Moonlight filtered through the trees, birds called from above, and dark beings flitted past.

Faith's hands lashed forward wildly, not knowing what to do. The world seemed to be sliding past her, like an oil-based painting that hadn't quite dried yet and was leaking off the dark canvas.

Her eyes narrowed determinedly. "Hello?" She called, moving forward. Each step felt like she was trudging through thick water. "Hello?! Can anyone help me?!" Her calls seemed to echo throughout the area.

The ground seemed to soften, letting her legs sink down.

She gave a gasp and thrashed around wildly, only sinking deeper with each convulsion.

"Help!" Her mouth spluttered. Darkness closed around her, sectioning her off from the world around her. "Help!" She called again.

At that point in time, only her head, and flailing arm was visible from the pit.

A small tear escaped her eye, dribbling down into nothingness…

Suddenly, a dark, winged shape descended in front of her. It clutched her arm, its safe grip holding her steady.

Soon, she was out of the abyss that now yawned behind her. The stranger's face was clouded with a darkened mask, making it impossible to see their face.

They stepped back a few paces and held out their hand. Faith cocked her head to the side, the stranger only mimicked her. She slowly reached out…

---

Faith woke, gasping.

Her eyes scanned around her. She was safe; back at home.

She sank back down into her blankets, trying to figure out what she just saw.

_Stop thinking about it, Faith, _Her mind interfered, _It was only a dream: it had no meaning whatsoever._

She sighed, trying to agree with her mind, but the dream wouldn't budge from its place.

_Ok, that was _just _a dream! Nothing new, or special. So I need to just –_

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the unmistakable sound of her stomach.

Faith sat up, triggering another tremor of hunger to erupt through her belly. She peered out the window, realizing that the moon was already out.

Her green eyes narrowed. Had she really slept that long?

She just shrugged and stood up, brown hair descending down to her shoulders once more. _Greg and Helga have probably saved me some food like they always do. _She thought as she walked to the oak door that marked the entrance and exit of her room.

She placed her hand on the smooth surface, and gently shoved it forward. The sound it made seemed to creak around the house eerily.

Faith merely shrugged. Not many things scared her nowadays.

She walked forward and turned the corner that bordered her bedroom door and the rest of the house. And her gasp soon filled the house.

Greg and Helga were in the room all right, but they were lying on the floor.

Dead.

When it came to violence and gore, Faith was calm and mild. When it came to sad, mushy stories, Faith just shrugged them off. But when it came to her family or friends getting hurt, her heart just about bursts.

Only they weren't just hurt, they looked as if they were tortured. As if they were questioned before being put to death.

Hot, salty tears leaked from Faith's eyes as she stared at their shocked expressions, as if they had no idea that they were about to die. Helga's mouth was wide open, as if gawking at an invisible object. Her eyes were wide open too, mimicking her shocked look to where she looked like she was gasping for air. Greg, on the other hand, looked terrible. The clothes that he wore were ripped in places, some larger than others. Dried blood was crusted on the edges of some, while fresh blood was still soaked on the fabric. His face was a mixture of defiance, and fear, complimented by narrowed eyes.

The most horrifying part of the scene was what was around it. Blood seemed to be spattered on everything. The rolls that Helga had made were scattered on the floor, some with few drops of blood coating them. The wall had large rivulets of blood smeared across, like some deranged painter did it.

Faith was silent for only a moment, before letting out a loud cry of sorrow. "G-greg! H-helga!" She spluttered between her sobs.

She sank to her knees, her hands trembling as they slid onto her eyes, as if trying to erase the sight before her.

"W-w-why?" She spluttered once more. "W-why did this happen? _Why?_"

As if her thoughts were being answered, a loud bang resounded from the door.

Faith's head shot up, her tears seemed to stop. Her eyes narrowed furiously. _So, the murderers came back for more, huh? _Her mind growled.

She reached over for her bow and quiver of arrows. After readying an arrow, she walked over to the door, glassy eyes blazed with fury.

Her leg reached out as she hit the door with her heel, knocking the door backwards on its hinges.

"Faith!"

Faith flinched at her name. Kesh was standing there, his eyes filled with worry.

"Faith, you need to get out of the house n-" He stopped abruptly as he realized how she looked, and how an arrow was pointed at his chest.

He huffed out a breath. "Honestly, I try to help, and she whips out an arrow on me again!" He muttered to himself.

He stepped forward and held out his hand. "Faith, it's not safe here, we need to leave… now!"

Faith just stood there, glued to the spot. Her mind and body was wrought with emotions, and she felt one emotion that she never wanted to feel again; panic.

Kesh glanced at her before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Come _on_ now! Let's not wait for the grass to grow!"

Faith blinked a few times, clearing her thoughts, but before she could say anything, Kesh had placed his arms around hers and was shoving her out of the house.

"Stop! Stop! I can walk y'know!" She said, swatting his hands away.

Kesh managed to swing his hands away from Faith's, before saying, "Look, we don't have much time! I'm trying to _help_ you!"

Faith just sighed and asked, "Help me from what? Getting saved by the townspeople?"

Kesh just gripped onto her arm again and resumed dragging her towards the forest. Faith's mouth soon opened to scream; only to have it covered by Kesh's other hand.

"Will you shut up!?" Kesh hissed, all cooperation lost in his anger. He dragged her harder, this time Faith walked with him.

After a few minutes of this charade, Faith stopped dead in her tracks. "Hey, I think I can see people down at the farm!" She exclaimed. Small, dark forms that looked like humans were scurrying this way and that around the house. Faith's mouth curved up into a smile; she was safe! She turned back to Kesh, trying to see if he was happy too.

Instead, his face had grown pale.

Faith cocked an eyebrow. "Kesh, what's…?" She followed Kesh's stare back down to the farm, just in time to see the small people light it on fire.

Faith just stood there, rooted to the spot. The humanoid figures seemed to stare at the burning embers, as if pleased with their work, before turning and running off. One of them let out a jeering laugh, before falling in place with the group.

Tears once again sprang to Faith's eyes, coming in a greater amount.

"N-no…" She whispered, "W-why?" She then realized the pressure in her arm had loosened; Kesh had let go.

She turned her head, her vision blurred by salty tears. Kesh was still standing there, in his resolute fashion.

She turned back to the farm; the sounds of the worried animals reached her ears. She closed her eyes, wishing she could just block out everything.

"Um… Faith?" It took her a while to realize that it was Kesh that had spoken in such a hushed voice. "We'd better get going-"

"Hey! What are you kids doing here!?"

Kesh and Faith's heads both turned towards the voice. A large, heavyset man was walking towards them. His voice was seemingly familiar to Faith. Her eyes widened as she realized that he was the "laughing" man.

"Well, brats, why are you out here!?" He demanded again.

Kesh's eyes narrowed. "Why should you know, blubber? I don't think that's any of your business!" Kesh retorted.

The man's eyes narrowed into slits. "You little shit! You should have respect for others!" With that, he lunged forward, meaty arms extended in fists.

In one swift and fast motion, Kesh had wrapped his arms around Faith's waist.

Faith turned her head around. "Kesh, what are you-"

Her eyes widened as brown-speckled wings protruded from his back. Her eyes moved down as she felt his feet changing into black talons.

Kesh rocketed into the air, hovering a few feet above the man's head. "Sorry, blubber, but we have to go!" Kesh jaunted.

With one beat from his wings, Kesh swooped forward. Wind whistled past them, whipping their hair back into a stream-like way.

Faith turned her head back to see "blubber" stumbling after them.

"Hey, you get back here!" He cried. But Kesh only beat his wings harder, putting more distance between them and him.

Faith couldn't help but laugh at his dopey expression; it was just so priceless!

She laughed for a while, before realizing that Blubber had given up his chase a long while ago.

She grinned again and turned forward once more. At first, the sight before her made her curious, before she gave a loud gasp as she realized what was happening; they were falling, fast.

Kesh was letting out short, panting breaths of exertion. While Faith was letting out worried breaths.

"Kesh! KESH! We're about to _fall_!" She stared up into Kesh's blue eyes. Instead of their lively shine, they were filled with one message; he was tired.

"Kesh!" Faith said one more time, before feeling the earth hit her body, hard. Kesh's arms, which were still around her hips, pressed into her, only doubling the pain.

She let out a long moan, before letting her head sink into the soft grass.

When Kesh had let go of her arm earlier, she could have run off at that moment. But, she chose not too. Why? Because at that one point in time, she felt as if Kesh was the only one left to be with. And as she lay there in the grass, she realized that it was true.

* * *

Ok, what I mean by the last paragraph is not MUSHY! It's just as in friends, or anything else… 'kay?


	3. Realization

**Yay! I've finally gotten off of my lazy butt to write Chapter 3! (this story is addicting x3)**

Warmth was the first thing that woke Faith that morning.

She lifted her head drowsily, groaning as she felt the pulsing of a bruise on her forehead.

Her mind reeled as she sat up on the earth. _Ugh… what happened? _She thought. Her hand reached absentmindedly to her forehead, brushing against her new mark.

She forced her eyes fully open. She was in the woods that were a few miles away from her house. Tall pine trees loomed over here, green needles pointed out like accusing fingers. In front of her was a boulder, its great gray surface glinting in the morning dew.

She turned her head from left to right, eyes scanning the area for some clue as to where she was.

Her eyes soon rested on the one thing closest thing to her; the all too familiar face of Kesh.

His eyes were closed, looking as peaceful as ever, his arms out on the ground as if he was dropped there…

Faith's eyes narrowed as she realized that he _was _dropped there… by himself.

More memories of the night before filled her mind, each one forcing her eyebrows to narrow on every painful one.

Ignoring the fact that he was asleep, Faith placed both hands on his side and gave him a rough shove. His body shifted slightly, while his mouth let out a tired moan. She pushed harder, he flipped over this time.

She had to swing her body back to avoid Kesh's body, which had leaped up as soon as Faith had flipped him over.

"Who-wha?" He spluttered. His arms were out to the side in a defensive pose, his eyes wide with shock from his rude awakening.

"Down here, idiot." Faith snarled, her anger taking over her.

At the sound of Faith's voice, Kesh relaxed. His pupils slowly began to shrink down to their regular size, while his arms moved back to his sides.

He grinned down at her fuming form, with was sitting Indian-style in the grass her arms crossed over her chest.

"Well, you're up! Good mor-"

"Cut the crap, Kesh!" Faith snapped once more, standing up to her full height. "'Good morning'?! Is that all you can say after last night!?"

At first Kesh looked confused, before his smile slowly slid to a nervous smile. "Oh, _that_… Well, you see, I was going to tell you later on in life-"

"Tell me what!? That you're a freaking freak with wings… and talons!?" Faith shook her head rapidly. "What the hell are you, Kesh!?"

At first, Kesh looked lost for words, his blue eyes expressionless, before they narrowed. His eyes looked like a cold fury, his teeth tightly pressed against each other.

"So that's what I am to you; a freak?" He hissed. His wings whipped out, along with his sharp talons. "I didn't _ask _for these, Faith! They just came!"

"You still haven't answered my question," Faith said, her temper slowly cooling, "_What _are you?"

Kesh took a long, deep breath. His muscles slowly relaxing as he forced himself to at least dampen his anger and frustration.

He let out a sigh. "I'm… a +Anima…" He whispered, refusing to meet his eyes with Faith's.

Faith's own eyes narrowed in confusion, before they widened with realization. "A +Anima?" She said. "I'd heard stories of them, but I thought that they were fakes; a child's tale."

Kesh snorted. "Well, apparently not." He said playfully. He flexed his wings for authenticity.

Faith's head shook. "I don't get it… I was sure that +Anima weren't real… positive!"

"Well… stories can trick you, but the truth is right here in front of you." Kesh said.

Faith still looked confused. "Are there any other +Anima?"

Kesh laughed. "What is this '100 questions'? I don't know, I think there are, I just haven't met them."

The grass shifted as Faith turned on her heels, looking towards the forest that surrounded her.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Kesh asked hurriedly.

"Hunting." Faith said simply. She glanced over her shoulder at Kesh. "You could too, y'know."

Kesh just grunted and stalked off to a nearby boulder. "I'm already sore from last night's risky techniques."

Faith shrugged. "Suit yourself." After snatching up her bow and quiver of arrows, Faith sprinted off, her brown hair vanishing into the wilderness.

After a few moments, Faith managed to spot a small hare. She sighed. _It isn't much, but it will have to do._

She slowly reached back and withdrew an arrow from her quiver, placing it into the bow.

The small mammal's ears twitched, before its large, black eyes stared at Faith's location.

With a sharp ping, Faith shot the arrow forward.

But the hare was faster. On quick, and panic stricken legs, it wheeled around and began to sprint off. The arrow landed at the location that the rabbit was just in, letting out a _thud _on impact.

Anger rose in Faith's throat. "Come back here!" She snarled. She knew that it wouldn't do any good, but it still felt good to do something.

She made her own way forward, following the path that the small creature had taken. Her eyes were wide open, her arms swinging at her side for balance, legs pounding against the earth.

Her head suddenly felt warm, causing her to stumble slightly, resulting in her slipping onto the ground. Although, she managed to knock her head on one of the many rocks that covered the forest floor.

"Uh…" She moaned, feeling pain ebb into her skull. She stared down at the small, round object. "Stupid rock." She muttered, before tossing it off into the distance, feeling satisfactory when she heard it land in the distance.

She began to stand up, her mind starting to clear. _Well, at least I didn't break any-_

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of flapping wings, followed by the cry of a blue jay. She stood there confused; why did it sound so loud?

"Well, that bird must be…" She let her voice trail off as she realized how much noise was truly reaching her ears.

To her right, she could hear the scuffling of small feet as they tried to hide from some unsuspecting predator. To her left was the sound of a Robin calling out into the morning air. Everywhere else was the same sounds, every now and then was the sound of something new that Faith couldn't identify.

Her eyes grew wide at the sounds. They were all so magnified, so much more than they were a minute ago.

_M-maybe it's my head… yeah, I'm just imagining… _She stopped at the one sound that she knew best: deer.

Instantly, her head swiveled around to the right, her eyes staring off into the distance. Sure enough, she could see the white tail of a doe about 7 meters away.

Her eyes grew wide, taking in the whole scene. Her eyes narrowed to focus her concentration, before launching herself forward, a new energy thriving in her veins.

All of her senses were strained forward, focusing on the animal before her, her hands were clenched into fists.

Suddenly, the doe's head lifted, its fawn colored ears twitching.

"No!" Faith snarled before leaping into the air, her arms extended forwards for the animal.

The doe let out a moan, before running forward.

But Faith was too fast. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she leaped forward again, her nails digging into the animal's soft flesh.

The doe let out an even louder moan, its tail flashing up and down in a warning way.

Faith only dug in harder, her eyes narrowing with pleasure as she felt hot blood ooze out of the puncture holes she was making.

Finally, the doe seemed to give up. She threw her head back and let out a gurgled sound, before collapsing on the ground.

Faith just snorted; she'd seen this technique before. The animal would play dead, and then go sprinting off when your back was turn.

Faith released her hold, before lowering her head down to the doe's neck. Her mouth watered at the smell of her flesh.

Without making a sound, Faith swung her head down and dug her teeth into the doe's neck. Blood instantly filled her mouth as the doe let out a loud moan. Faith winced at the intensity of the sound, relaxing when its head had finally slumped down onto the earth.

Faith released her hold, her tongue swiping over her now-red teeth. "Well, that was a good hunt." She said. She grinned happily as she thought of how much food her and Kesh would eat now.

Kesh!

Faith's mind swirled: she'd forgotten about Kesh! She twisted her body around, scanning the area, before lifting the doe onto her shoulders and trudging back to their meeting place. Oddly enough, everything was so much sharper, so much cooler than before.

After a while, Faith managed to get back to the boulder that Kesh was sitting on top of. His hawk wings spread wide, catching the sunlight. His face was tilted forward as he stared up into the heavens. He honestly didn't look anxious or anything, just bored.

"Alright, I'm back." Faith said as she slammed the doe onto the grass.

Kesh turned. A smile was already planted on his face, his eyes closed due to how long he'd been staring at the sun.

"Well, great! I was wondering when you'd come back!" He slid off of the boulder and opened his eyes.

They grew wide with astonishment as they stared at Faith. She instantly felt pressured under his gaze.

"Um… what?" She asked, her eyes taking in every little detail in the grass below her.

Soon after, Kesh's face was soon replaced with a broad grin. "So, I see that you've finally shown your _true _self, huh?"

Faith walked forward to where she was about 3 feet from Kesh. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kesh just kept grinning as he said, "Why don't you go look into that puddle over there."

Faith stared at him, wondering what kind of joke this was. But, she made her way over to the small pool of liquid.

She took one last glance at Kesh, her suspicions still aroused, before turning back towards the water.

A gasp soon echoed through the forest.

Faith's green eyes had grown wide, while her hands had started trembling. She looked different than before. Instead of her normal human ears, two red fox ears were pricked atop her head. Faith's mouth opened, only to shut again as canine teeth greeted her. Blood was smeared around her lips, and on her teeth, giving her a barbaric look.

She was frozen with shock, her heart beating at 90 miles an hour.

_I-I'm… a +Anima?_

**YAY! I finally finished! I didn't exactly know how to end this chapter, it's right now at 6 pages! I got to 7, but decided to edit it.**

**Reviews? :D**


	4. What Now?

**Yay! Chapter 4!!!!**

**AND 5 REVIEWS!!! Yes, I know that that's a pretty small number, but it's a big number to me! :P**

**And for those of you who are wondering, I will keep writing this story for a LONG time! I don't know how long, but I have the ending in mind, so maybe 20-30 chapters or something like that…**

**Enjoy!!!**

After a few seconds of shocked silence, Kesh's reflection was soon overlooking hers. He sighed. "Yes, I know, it's shocking at first, but then you just get over it."

Faith turned around. "Get over it…?"

Kesh merely shrugged. "Yeah. After all, you'll be living with it the rest of your life."

Faith looked down, noticing that her finger nails were even somewhat longer and sharper and were coated with blood. "Rest of my life?" She echoed.

Kesh stood up and walked away to the doe, letting his wings disappear. As he crouched next to the carcass, he asked, "So, you killed this animal with your bare hands?" He turned his head back to her.

Faith just gave a nervous smile, unsure of what to do.

Kesh just turned back to the doe and said, "Well, it doesn't look as if it put up a fight… wait, are those _bite marks _on its neck…?"

"Yes, yes they are. I went crazy and chomped down on its neck to end its life, ok?!" Faith snapped.

"Well, jeez, you don't have to get all nasty with me." Kesh retorted. "Besides, it was killed swiftly. You apparently did a lot better than my first hunting trip in +Anima form."

Faith felt slightly touched at his comment, before another question flickered out of her mouth. "… How did I become like this? I just remember feeling warm, so I tripped and hit my head… now I'm like _this_." She held up her hands and flicked her ears.

Kesh shrugged. "Dunno, maybe you just needed some time for them to awaken? I honestly don't know, and I'm not an expert." He straightened up and glanced at her. "Do you like your meat raw or cooked?"

Faith managed to laugh. "Cooked, please."

"Really?" Kesh said, amused. "I like mine raw." He let one of his talons slide out, before snagging a piece of meat off of the creature, before stuffing it into his mouth. A small trickle of blood made its way down his cheek as he let out a pleased moan.

Faith wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Ok, now that's just gross…" She said, letting her fox-form slide back.

Kesh just grinned, his teeth pink. "Hey, it's survival of the fittest!"

"Yeah, sure, but not the 'let's eat things raw' life." She said back, already gathering pieces of wood for a decent fire.

Kesh just sighed and continued eating, like this was no big deal, and while inside of Faith was a mass of confusion and weakness.

_Great, so now I'm just another target for hunters… hunters with _guns_! Doesn't Kesh ever worry about anything?! _She glanced over at her carefree friend, shuddering as he stuck another red slab of meat into his mouth, his cheeks moving as he chewed.

Faith turned her head away and proceeded with her gathering of firewood. _And, now _I'm _a target. Why, exactly?_ She froze in thought. _… I don't know. _She concluded.

She then dropped the subject, scooping up another large branch on the ground to add to the growing pile in her arms, slightly irritated with herself for thinking over something so absurdly.

As soon as her wooden pile was large enough, she dropped it onto the ground. Faith grabbed two pieces of wood and struck them together, watching as the wood gave no response.

She struck again, only harder. The stick let out a small 'puff', but nothing more. Faith's teeth grinded together as she frustratingly tried again.

Nothing.

It took self-control to not hurl the piece at the ground and resort to eating meat raw. She struck again, feeling somewhat better as a wisp of smoke wriggled its way out of the stick's crevasses. She struck again.

Nothing.

Her eyes grew wide as her hands clenched tighter. The forest was soon filled with the sound of wood smacking against each other as Faith struck 20 more times… harder.

A sigh was soon heard behind her. "You know, if you keep doing that, then we will have no hope of getting food. And it will probably keep me up all night."

Kesh let out a yelp as Faith hurled one of the sticks at him. It struck him on the cheek, leaving a large purple-ish bruise.

"Well, if it's going to bother you, then help!" Faith snarled, her patience dwindling.

Kesh let out a huffy breath, muttering the word 'girls' under his breath so that Faith wouldn't launch another stick at him.

He reached down and picked up the stick that had hit him, along with another one that was resting on top of the other branches.

He placed the two together before jerking his arm forward, the two pieces of wood grinding against each other.

Orange sparks soon flew off of the object and onto the earth below. Faith's angered gasp reached his ears.

Kesh could help but smirk as one of the sparks flared on the branch and set the whole thing into a blazing ball of yellow.

After tossing the branch into the mesh of other sticks, he sat down next to Faith, looking exhausted.

"Well, now that we have an extra large lunch that will most likely be dinner, we might as well talk or something." Kesh said casually.

Faith turned to him. "Talk about what, Kesh?"

Kesh just shrugged. "I don't know… something that maybe the other person knows…"

"Fine." Faith sighed, her mind considering what to ask her friend. "What's your family like?"

Kesh stiffened at that question. Faith stared at him, waiting for the answer.

He turned his head away, looking off into the distance. "They were great… really great." He said slowly.

Faith looked at him curiously. "_Were_? What do you mean by-"

"Are you going to eat or what?" Kesh interrupted, swinging his head back around to face her. An unknown emotion was flickering in his eyes, like a small flame from the fire next to them.

"Um… yeah." Faith said still curious about Kesh's reaction to her question.

She stood and walked over to the deer. She gripped both hands on its neck before dragging it over to the fire.

Withdrawing her hunting knife, she managed to slice off a good-sized piece of meat. She then picked up one of the sharper sticks that lay on the ground, ramming it into the meat to where it was stuck in it.

She hung the stick and muscle over the flames, watching as the orange wisps licked its juicy red surface.

Kesh sighed next to her. "Ruining a perfectly good piece of meat by cooking it." He shook his head. "What a waste…"

"Hey! I bet that you used to like cooked meat when you were little; when you were still a +Anima!" Faith retorted.

Kesh glanced at her, the unknown emotion back. "Hey, yourself! How do you know that I was born like this!?"

Faith seemed taken aback by his sudden outburst. "Well, I just thought you were, ok?" She turned her attention back to her lunch, pulling it back to inspect its color, deciding to drop the subject.

Kesh was silent, just watching the flames once more. Faith couldn't help but glance at him.

_What was his problem? I just asked a simple question, he could've said that he didn't want to talk about it then drop it. _Faith's green eyes searched his face, trying to find an answer.

She looked away when Kesh looked back at her.

"I'm going to fly now… can you take care of yourself?" Kesh said, standing up and letting his wings slide out.

"You make it sound as if I'm a child!" Faith huffed, dipping the meat back into the flames. "Of course I can take care of myself!" She opened her mouth up and slid her vulpine teeth out to show him.

He just turned around, sighing. "Fine, but don't run off!"

Before Faith could launch herself at her paranoid friend, he lept into the air. His wings flapping against the wind as he soared off over the woods.

Faith huffed out an annoyed breath. _Stupid hawk wings! _She thought half-angrily.

She held the stick steady for a few more minutes before pulling it back out once more. A small smile spread across her face as she looked at its, now brown, color.

She instantly scooted backwards into a shady area under one of the many trees. Her free hand felt around until she found a smooth, medium-sized rock. She slapped the meat onto it and waited for it to cool, her eyes roaming the area.

… _Now what? _Her bored thoughts pondered. She glanced back down at the meat, wanting to sink her teeth into it badly. She ignored it anyway, knowing that she would only result in burning her own mouth.

Her eyes stared off into the spaces between the trees, which were shadowed a dark green from the forest canopy.

_Wonder where Kesh goes when he flies… _Faith thought curiously. Her hand soon slapped her forehead, becoming annoyed with herself.

_What was up with Kesh when I asked him about his family? Does he just miss them or something…? _Her pondering mind seemed to take her away from her attention to her food which was being crawled upon by insects.

Her head turned towards the food, noticing the small creatures. "What the-" She swiped her hand on them, knocking them off one by one until her meat was clean.

"Idiotic insects!" She muttered. She lifted her food off of the stone that she'd set it upon and took a bite, not at all irked by the fact that bugs were just on it.

Her mouth watered as the savory meat touched her tongue. Its flavor was rich and addicting, making her want to stuff the whole entire thing into her mouth.

After she was finished, she leaned back to where she was finally lying flat on the grass. She folded her arms behind her head, her hands flat against the back of her skull.

It only took a while before darkness took over, and she was lost in the world of dreams and nightmares.

---

"You awake yet?"

Faith's eyes slid open, gasping as Kesh's face was looming above hers, a playful grin on his features.

Instinctively, she lashed out with her clenched fists, catching him in the jaw.

Kesh's head swung back, narrowly missing the second fist.

"Seriously!?" He said in a sarcastic tone. "Is that all you can do?"

"Shut up! You caught me at a bad time, that's all…"

"What? I caught you at _nap _time!?" He let out a small laugh before sinking down to the ground, leaning against an oak's trunk.

Faith ignored the comment and glanced off into the distance, realizing that the tree tops had turned golden from the sun's setting rays.

"Had I been asleep for that long…?" Faith murmured to herself.

"Yep." Kesh replied. Faith glared at him.

Faith finally stood from her resting spot. She looked off into the distance. "Well? Are we going to keep moving?"

Kesh stood up once more. He gave a small nod before sprouting his wings, small feathers slowly sinking through the air down to the light grass below.

He extended his arm out to Faith. Faith just looked at it before saying, "I can take care of myself and run thanks."

Kesh just rolled his eyes and said, "Suit yourself." He then lept into the air, catching the wind in his brown-speckled wings.

Faith stared after him before running after him, her breaths coming out in an easy rhythm.

But instead of following Kesh's route, she veered right and ran forwards until a certain grove of trees appeared.

She stopped beside them and bent down. On the earth was her bow and arrows. She swung the quiver of arrows over her shoulder, adjusting the strap to where it was a comfortable fit, before placing the bow into the quiver.

She looked off to where Kesh was flying.

She sighed. _Well… what now?_

**FINISHED! Yesh!**

**Tomorrow is when I'm going on vacation, but I wanted to finish this chapter first!**

**AND I DID!!! And in record time!**

**Ah, I feel good! :3**

**Anyways, I think I drew out a few things, but other than that… I think that chapter's pretty good!**

**What do you guys think?**


	5. Sounds and Bipolar

**Chapter 5! WOOOHOO!!**

… **not much progress, but I'm getting there!**

**Oh yeah, and I don't know if they had binoculars in the story (or in the area that +Anima took place) so I just guessed ^^;**

Thick, gray binoculars peered out from a dark green bush. The lens glinted in the setting sun light as they panned left and right, focusing on one dark object before bouncing to the next.

A deep, male voice spoke up from the vegetation. "Has the target been spotted yet?"

Another voice replied, "No. But I know that they're here."

The first man that had spoken smirked and leaned back on the leaf-strewn earth, folding his arms behind his head. "What is the point of this, anyway? I mean, we could just leap out and shoot them without any spying-"

"But if we do that, the other one could escape dipshit!" The man holding the binoculars snarled.

The first man that had spoken wasn't finished yet. "Yeah, but how do we know when she's off her guard?"

Just then, a small sound, almost the sound of a racing heartbeat, could be heard. The men looked up to see a bird lowering itself at the bush.

The man with the binoculars lifted his arm to act as a perch for the animal. A grin spread across his face. "Don't worry, we'll know."

The raven let out a loud caw; a sign that the target had moved.

**(A/n: Ok, I know that most of you are pretty much like "wtf does a raven have to do with this?! Well, I wrote a prologue, but I forgot to put it in the story on . But it is on my deviantart account! See my profile for the prologue, and sorry once again! ********)**

"Kesh, shut up already."

"Aw, come on Faith! Just one bite?"

"I said, shut up!"

"Please!"

"Why are you so desperate for me to try raw meat!?" Faith finally snapped. They had come to a resting point in their trek, and Kesh had managed to catch a few rabbits while he was flying about. And he was trying to convince her to eat raw meat.

"I'm acting so "desperate" because raw meat is wonderful! And it's healthy!" Kesh said calmly.

Faith sighed and muttered, "I still think it's gross…"

A rough shove in her arm confirmed that Kesh had heard, and disapproved of her statement. Faith turned to see a playful scowl on his face.

He picked up the rabbit haunch that he had ripped off with his talons earlier and held it in front of her face. "Looks good?"

Faith wrinkled her nose. "Hell no!" She placed her hand on it and pushed it away. She roughly rubbed her hand on her, now dirt stained, pants to rid them of the rabbit blood.

Kesh sighed before trying again. "Come on, it's healthy."

"For the last time Kesh n-" She was soon silenced, for Kesh had lost patience and had thrusted the haunch forward into Faith's mouth.

Faith bit down on instinct, feeling blood squirt out of the muscle like an orange into her mouth.

Kesh pulled away the meat fiercely, grinning with satisfaction as he realized that Faith had held on to her piece of meat and still had it sitting in her mouth.

Faith's teeth sank deeper into the flesh, draining it of its blood and slicing through the tendons and tissue that were resting inside of it.

Faith's eyes widened as she realized how her vulpine instincts were taking over. And sure enough, her fangs slid out and sliced through the meat easily. Her throat muscles convulsed as her tongue shoved it back, sending the meat on its journey down her digestive tract.

Once all of the meat was swallowed, silence enlaced through the area that they were sitting in.

"See? That wasn't so ba-" Kesh winced as Faith's hand collided with his cheek, causing a red mark to appear.

"You made me eat raw meat!" She screamed. She lunged for Kesh again. Kesh merely dodged.

"Hey, it wasn't so bad, and besides: you didn't stop!" He managed to give a small smile before Faith's sharp teeth nearly grazed his arm.

His wings whipped out of his back, feather's spread apart to let sunlight slant through. With one quick flap, he lifted himself into the air. Faith's hand reached for his ankle, just as Kesh swerved over to a tree.

As he landed, he smirked. "Jeez, over react much?"

Faith froze, breathing still heavy. She closed her eyes and said, "You're right."

Kesh leaned forward and whispered, "Bipolar much?"

Faith's eyes snapped open. "I'll show you bipolar!" She leapt to the tree, trying to get a grip on the rough bark.

Kesh finally moved his talons forward, hooking Faith's shirt from the back. He groaned as he weight tugged him down.

"Hey, Faith?"

"Yeah?"

"Lose some weight!"

He unhooked his talons and sat back with a huff, while Faith landed roughly. She winced as her hand rubbed the developing bruise on her back.

"Hey! You could have pulled me up!" Faith hollered, still rubbing her bruise.

"Wait, did you hear that?"

Faith pricked her vulpine ears, allowing all sounds to flow into her ears. Her eyes sharpened as the average sounds flowed into her ears. "No…" She said slowly, slightly annoyed by Kesh's interruption. Faith glared up at her friend, unable to hide the fact that he was probably overreacting.

But Kesh ignored her and turned towards that sky. He stood up as his hawk wings spread themselves wide. "I'll go check it out."

"What!?" Faith hollered. "But there's _nothing _there! I can't hear any-" But Kesh jumped into the air and soared off, leaving a fuming Faith behind.

Faith stared at the branch that Kesh was just standing. She was silent for a moment before plopping down to the ground. Her, now bored, mind roaming lazily through her thoughts; not knowing what to do.

Her eyes finally stared off into the wilderness, her sharp eyes focusing on all of the greenery.

"Ugh… why does Kesh always have to have these awkward moments?" She moaned as she rested her head on her hand.

Her ears twitched as a rustling sound managed to reach her ears.

Faith just sighed and slid her eyes shut. _Just the wind… _Her lazy mind whispered. Her other hand came up to her chin to where her head was resting on both hands.

The rustling sound grew louder to where Faith could distinctively pick out the pattering of footsteps.

Faiths eyes peeled open, wincing slightly as a bright ray of sunlight rammed into them. She stared forward, her ears guiding her.

The rustling sound seemed to be drawing closer. Faith stood, her teeth already morphing into their 'animal' state.

Faith dared to take a step forward, her head slightly lower than usual in preparation to run if it came to that.

The sound stopped, causing everything else to go deadly quiet.

Faith narrowed her green eyes and moved forward. A slight grin moved on her face as she heard the rustling again, only is sounded more hesitant and shifty.

Her body crouched low, one leg out farther than the other while her torso was folded over. The rustling was now only a few shuffles, giving Faith enough time to lock onto it. She slowly leaned forward…

"Hey!"

Faith's head jerked up at the sound of Kesh's eccentric voice, causing the rustling to turn frantic before it gave the sound of it turning around and running off. Faith growled a few curses towards Kesh before moving forward after the noise.

"Where are you going?" Kesh called after her. Faith had already slipped through the trees and was sprinting through the area, her brown hair a blur.

Kesh sighed with annoyance. "That girl… why can't she just be patient?" Before flapping after her, his speckled wings beating with the wind's rhythm.

Faith's feet moved harder and faster against the earth, almost to the same beat as her accelerating heart beat.

The sound was moving away from her, almost beckoning to her. And it also seemed to be teasing her while it was at it.

Faith growled and tried to increase her speed, only to feel her legs give out from under her. She gasped as she collapsed onto the ground; her legs sprawled out behind her. She snarled and, using her arms, sat up to glance back at her throbbing legs.

She sighed and began to stand. Her legs wobbled beneath her, threatening to collapse under her once more. So Faith flipped herself over and sat there, her arms crossed over her chest.

Kesh stared down into the trees before swooping lower, searching for Faith as fast as he could. His blue eyes scanned everything, trying to find his friend.

"Kesh!"

Until he heard her.

Kesh's head looked down, straight below where he was hovering. The call came again, confirming the location.

With great skill, Kesh folded his wings inward, causing for him to drop downwards. His hair flew back, brushing against his forehead every few seconds. Kesh's eyes squinted, battling with the wind to stay open.

Just when he thought he was going to probably hurt himself by smacking into the forest canopy, he opened up his wings again. They caught the wind quickly, throwing him off slightly, and Kesh couldn't help but wince at how rough it was to suddenly snap his wings out.

"Kesh! You'd better get down here now!" The call came again. Kesh grinned. Yep, that was Faith.

Faith stared back up into the branches, noticing the shadow that leaked through the leaves with the sunlight.

Faith huffed with annoyance before screaming, "Kesh, if you don't come down here, then I'm going to mur-"

"Alright!" A call answered. "Sheesh! Just calm down already!"

The familiar blonde-headed Kesh soon maneuvered his way through the branches, his eyes watching carefully to make sure that he didn't get hurt. As soon as he was out, he landed in front of his friend.

"Well? What is it?" Kesh asked as he looked down at her.

Faith sighed and asked, "Did you notice anything while you were up there?"

Kesh cocked an eyebrow and scratched the back of his head. "No. Why?"

"When you were gone, I heard something coming towards me, so I was going to go after it." She glared up at him. "But _you _scared it off!"

Kesh held up his hands. "Alright, alright. Sheesh, you'd think that I'd at least hear a 'welcome back' or something." He folded his hands across his chest. "But I guess not."

Faith rolled her eyes and forced herself to stand, her legs felt like abused jelly. She finally said, "Let's just go back to our 'camp'." She took a wobbly step forward, her mind still on the rustling noise that had appeared.

A grumbling went up in the woods.

Faith rolled over on her side. All day, she'd caught nothing. Not even Kesh could spot something to grab. When Kesh returned with nothing, they were forced to fast tonight.

Faith's stomach growled again, probably snarling at its owner to think reasonably and eat _something_!

Kesh moaned from his sore intestine. "Man, why couldn't we have found a rabbit at least?" He moaned, partially to himself.

Faith turned over to look at him. "Well, the rustling could've been a rabbit!" She muttered.

Kesh turned to face her, a frown on his face. "Yeah, or a threat."

Faith smirked. "A threat runs away from those that _don't _threat?"

Kesh narrowed his eyes, his blue eyes nearly matching the same dark hues in the star-filled sky. "Whatever, let's just get some sleep, 'kay?"

Faith sighed and nodded before turning away from him again and resting her head on top of her hands.

- - - - -

Faith raised her bow, ready to release the arrow as soon as the time came.

Her green eyes stared ahead as the rabbit twitched its ears, only making Faith's own vulpine ears slide out. The black-tipped ears swiveled to where they could intercept any sounds that the rabbit made, only causing Faith's stomach to growl more at the sight.

She and Kesh were still hungry from last night, and so she decided to at least try to catch something!

But, so far, she'd only been able to find a rabbit… _this _rabbit.

She gripped the bow harder, trying to stop from bolting forward to kill it like she's done with the doe that she had in the past. Her stomach growled at the memory of the meet slipping down into her body.

The rabbit's head lifted, its large eyes staring back at Faith as she slowly began to lower the bow.

The rabbit took off, its small feet beating against the ground.

Faith sprinted after it, her hunger already driving out the +Anima side of her. _No, I will kill this in a human way. Not like some vicious being!_ Her thoughts chanted.

But the rabbit was moving so fast, and Faith already knew that she wouldn't be able to kill it with an arrow.

Faith ground her teeth together, only to find that her sharp canines had already slid out, along with her slightly-sharp finger nails.

_Oh COME ON!!! _Her mind screamed, before it was taken over by instinct.

Faith ditched the bow and arrows, letting it fall to the forest floor with a small _thump_. She took off faster than before, her eyes strained forward to see every detail of the woods.

She grinned a sharp-toothed grin as she noticed how close she was to it. This hunt was a lot like the last hung; only harder, and it dealt with speed.

She was at least 3 strides behind the poor rodent, and she was closing the gap between them faster than she anticipated.

The rabbit gave a squeal as Faith dove down on top of it, her sharp teeth meeting its neck instantly. The rabbit opened its mouth, ready to let off another squeal, only to be silence as Faith dug in harder. Blood trickled out of the spot before the animal dropped its head.

Faith sighed and sat up, staring down at the rabbit. She glanced back at the bow and arrows behind her, laying on what seemed like a bed of twigs. She couldn't help but let a soft sigh escape her; maybe she didn't need them anymore?

She looked back down at the rabbit and thought, _No. When we go into public, I can't tell them that we hunted with our bare hands. And besides, _She stared back at the quiver, _Greg gave it to me._

She couldn't help but smile at the memory, before shoving it away before she broke out into a raging fit of tears. She reached down and scooped up the small carcass, before standing and making her way back to her quiver.

And then, to camp.

**Wheee! Can you say 'Retarded ending!?' :d**

**Anyways, I didn't know how to end this chapter, so I just put a "filler" hunting scene in the end.**

**I don't know about the next chapter…. Maybe I'll start hinting at what the plot REALLY is! MUAHAHAHH! :D**


	6. The black wolf

**Chapteh 6 Tiem! :P**

**Well, now the plot should be surfacing in the next 2 or 3 chapters…. I really do not know… :/**

**Anyways, please enjoy!**

**P.S. This takes place 2 days after the last chapter**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN +ANIMA**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

The wind was very loud when Faith woke up.

She and Kesh had been traveling for quite some time, and Kesh had claimed that a town wasn't far off. Faith, of course, happily followed.

Apparently, he was wrong.

Instead, they had ended up way off track due to Kesh's "skills". Kesh had flown up many times to check out the area, only to find out that the town _was _further away than anticipated.

"WHAT!?" Faith had said that day. "Kesh, we've been traveling for about a week, we seriously need to get some clean clothes."

Kesh had just rolled his eyes and said, "Jeez, you don't have to get your panties in a knot."

Faith's anger had boiled over. "I'll show you how to do a knot!"

Kesh had lept back as Faith's hand tried to smack his face again. His cheek was still a little pink from her last hit. "Ooh, the bipolar side is coming back again!"

A smack had sounded throughout the woods as Faith's hand made contact with his face for the second time that week.

Kesh rubbed his cheek at the memory, which was still red and sore. He turned around to find Faith sitting up, staring at him.

As blue eyes met green, Kesh said, "So, you're awake, huh?" He grinned as Faith blinked a few times to rid the damp feeling of sleep that still surrounded her. He moved to the side to reveal a small pile of about 3 rabbits that he had managed to snag with his talons while he was doing another patrol for food and a town.

And he had good news.

Faith blinked a few more times before leaning forward to stretch her stiff muscles. She looked down at the rabbits and stared at it, her mouth watering.

Kesh smirked at her hungry expression. "Yeah, I managed to catch something while I was out."

Faith stood her legs still stiff. "You caught that?" She said, her eyes never leaving the pile.

Kesh smirked again before replying, "Yes. Go ahead and eat, I'll eat later." He sat down before grabbing a few sticks and saying, "You're going to want a fire, huh?"

Faith walked over to the pile before saying, "Yeah, I still don't like raw meat all that much, and I still want to act at least 2-percent human."

Kesh nodded and reached behind him to pull out a few logs of wood. "I thought so, so I gathered some wood." He began to strike the two sticks together, trying to make some spark light the wood.

Faith glanced at him before saying, "You thought of everything." She sat down and grabbed her own share of sticks before striking them together like Kesh.

After a while, the two managed to get a fire going, warming up their meals. Well, _Faith's _meal.

Faith stared down at the rabbit meat as it roasted on a medium-sized stick that was in her hand. She turned the stick clockwise before asking, "So, what was it you heard 2 days ago?"

Kesh glanced at her before answering, "I thought I had heard another +Anima, calling out for help."

Faith's eyes focused on his. "What?" She said. "But I didn't hear anything, and I'm the one with fox ears."

"Yeah, but I was higher up."

Faith just sighed and shrugged her shoulders. She turned back to the fire, pulling the meat out to see that the meat was finished cooking. She brought it up to her mouth and took a bite, savoring the none-bloody flavors.

Kesh just crossed his legs and grabbed his own rabbit, forgetting about his "I'll eat later" speech. He sank his teeth into the carcass's flesh before remembering his good news.

He swallowed hurriedly, slightly choking on the fur that tickled his throat as it slid down, and said, "Faith! I forgot to mention; I saw a town in the distance!"

Faith nearly spat out the food that was in her mouth. She turned back to Kesh, excitement sparkling in her eyes. "Seriously?!"

Kesh grinned at her reaction before saying, "Yes, I managed to see the top of a tower in the distance. It seems like a 3 day journey, but we can survive if we keep up our hunting habits."

Faith couldn't help but smirk, her good mood already returning to her. "Hunting habits? This is the first catch we had in about 2 days."

Kesh just shrugged. "So? We can work on them as we go along."

Faith just groaned, not wanting to launch them into another argument. "Fine, whatever." She finally said. She stared harder at Kesh's face, noticing how it looked. "Have you been going for the insomniac look lately?" She asked, staring at the black circles under his eyes.

Kesh looked at her before placing his thumb under his eye and rubbing the spots. "No. If I do, you'd know." He looked away and took another bite of meat, small bits of blood leaking out of his lips.

Faith stared at him for a while before finishing her meal, grabbing her bow and quiver of arrows for the trek.

---------

"…Kesh? How much longer?"

Kesh looked back at Faith as they walked over another site that seemed to have been burnt to the ground. "We've been traveling all day; we still have 2 more days of traveling."

Faith groaned. By their pace, it seemed as if 2 days had already passed. She glanced up to see the orange glow of the setting sun above her, its rays already dying everything a gold color.

She sighed and kept going, already knowing that Kesh wouldn't stop for anything until the moon had finally made its appearance in the sky. So she glanced around, her eyes flicking from one large tree to a smaller one, only to repeat the process again.

Kesh glanced back, noticing her eyes as they looked around. "If you're worried that something will come after us, then just relax."

Faith glared at him. "I'm just bored." She retorted, crossing her arms across her chest.

Kesh sighed and turned back around, trying not to smirk.

Faith turned back to the forest, letting her fox ears slide out. The black and red furred ear swiveled around, hoping to hear something that might interest her. The only sounds that came to her were the rustling of leaves as the wind began to die down, and the sound of Kesh's even breathing.

Her ears pricked themselves even more at one sound that sounded different from the rest. It was a soft sound, a sound that human ears could never pick up. It was the sound of small feet thrumming against the ground as they moved from area to area.

Faith's feet stopped moving as she turned fully towards the sound, goaded by her growling stomach. She's never really realized how hungry she was until now. Her stomach begged for food as the sound seemed to magnify itself to where it seemed to be surrounding her.

Kesh turned realizing that she had stopped. He stared at her pose. "Faith?" He said, watching as she leaned forward in a hunting position. He began to step forward, trying to stop her. "Fai-"

Faith took off, her ears pressed back while her eyes were strained forward for a sighting of the animal – which she guessed was a rabbit.

Sure enough, a flash of speckled brown fur flashed in front of her before sprinting off towards a small hole in the ground. Faith glared, already knowing that the hole meant that she wouldn't catch it. She reached around her back and grabbed her bow, along with a few arrows, and aimed towards the rabbit's back.

Once she thought that she had a good shot, she released her hold, sending the arrow flying towards its target. The arrow flew forward with a soft whistle, before falling short and embedding itself into the ground.

Faith released a breath that she never knew she was holding as the rabbit reached its burrow and dove inside. Faith just stared at the arrow that stuck out of the ground like a slim groundhog out of its hole.

"Did you catch it?" Kesh said as he ran up to Faith's side. Faith just glanced at him, already telling him the answer: no.

He sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "Well that sucks, and I was hoping for something to eat on the way." He walked forward and yanked the arrow out of the ground, loosening a few clumps of dirt that fell back to the forest floor.

Faith just groaned and turned back towards where Kesh came from. "So, you ready to get back on track?"

Kesh nodded and walked forward. "Let's go." He took a step forward, freezing as a sound reached his ears.

Faith lifted her head, hearing the sound too. It was the same sound from 2 days ago. "Kesh, that's the same sound I heard 2 days ago."

Kesh turned to her, looking slightly confused. "How? Last time I checked, prey doesn't follow you."

Faith turned to him. "What happened to 'it could've been a predator'?"

Kesh stared at her, looking confused, before the memory struck him. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Well, I changed my mi-"

They both closed their mouths as the rustling grew louder, seeming to move when they were distracted.

Faith's fox ears angled themselves towards the noise, trying to identify what it was. The only thing she could tell was that it had four legs and was big.

Her head turned to where she was fully facing the location of it, her green eyes staring deep into the vegetation. But nothing came up except for the expanse of green.

Kesh leaned over. "I could fly overhead and check it out…"

Faith glanced over at him and replied. "Last time you did that, it was scared off. No." She focused back on the sound, noticing that it seemed to have stopped. She leaned her body foreword, into the same crouching position as the last time. Her eyes managed to catch a small glimpse of what looked like black fur before it moved away from her sights.

Suddenly, the grass rustled as a large black object hurtled out of the grass and towards Faith's shocked form.

Faith let her full +anima form reveal itself before lifting her arms to shield herself from the being. She let out a breath as it collided with her arms, its paws pressing down on her chest. Faith's green eyes soon met amber ones as she realized that she was face-to-face with a black wolf that was slightly larger than the average wolf. Its coat consisted of long black fur that blended in with the shadows, darkening even more on its forehead.

Faith's eyes focused on the dark area on its forehead, eyes widening as she realized that it wasn't the same fur. The fur in that area was shorter and twisted and turned to form a scar, a scar that seemed familiar to Faith.

_Strange… _She thought as she stared at it, _it almost looks like it's –_

Her thoughts were cut short as she felt the wolf push down on her again, pressing her into the earth, as it jumped off of her once more. Faith gasped from its motions before turning to see Kesh swinging his talons at it.

"Get out of here!" He yelled at it, swinging another vicious kick at it. The wolf's lips curled up into a snarl, revealing yellow teeth that matched the color of the faded rays of the sun.

Kesh swung his leg again, actually managing to mark three precise scratch marks across its cheek.

The wolf growled and lept foreword, paws outstretched and ready to attack its attacker.

Faith stood and inhaled a deep breath, still slightly winded from the wolf's weight, before jumping between the two.

"Stop!" She managed to say, before being dragged to the ground by the same black animal.

The wolf glared down at her, amber eyes searing with intent to kill. Faith glared up at Kesh who just stared down at the two.

"Happy? You could've gotten killed, or you could've killed it!" Faith said, her glare not faltering. She shifted her weight as she felt the wolf lean back into a sitting position on her stomach, causing her to let out another breathe.

Kesh narrowed his eyes. "Incase you hadn't noticed, it had jumped you! I was just…"

Faith just sighed. Another breathe was forced from her lips as the wolf jumped off of her and raced into the forest.

Faith lifted her head and stared at the spot it had just been, which was surprisingly warm. She flipped over onto all fours before standing up, brushing off a few pieces of dirt and letting her +anima form disappear.

"Come on. Let's just go." Faith said, not wanting to argue once again. She walked past Kesh and headed towards the path that they were following. Kesh soon followed suit.

As soon as the two had reached the path, they began their trek once again, well into the night.

Finally, after long moments of silence, Faith said. "So… did you notice the odd markings on the wolf's forehead?"

Kesh didn't glance back when he replied, "No. Why?"

"It looked oddly familiar, and it seemed like something a +anima would have…"

Kesh let his head droop, his narrowed eyes focusing on the ground. He was silent for a moment before lifting his head and staring into the distance.

Faith stared at him for a while before saying. "Um… Kesh-"

Faith stopped walking as soon as Kesh had veered off of the path and had trotted over to a group of bushes. He placed his hands into it and parted the leaves, smiling broadly as he turned his head to look back at Faith.

Faith walked over to join him, staring through the leaves at their destination which didn't seem that far away.

"We're here." Kesh said, before stepping through the bush and into the moonlight that shined brightly.

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**HOLY JEEZERZ!!! D: It took me a while to write this!**

**I'm so sorry for those that are fans and were wondering what took me for so long. I got grounded off of the computer, and then I had to go to my Gma's for a while.**

**Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter… I think it's pretty dull…**


	7. Arriving

**Me: …. Hello my good friends, and welcome to Chapter 7 of Ribbons of Fate.**

**Faith: Yeah yeah, let's just get on with it.**

**Kesh: *snickers* wow, who knew the bipolar side could even show in OOC's.**

**Faith: *GLARES***

**Kesh: O-ok then…**

**Me: *shakes head* let's, just get on with it…**

**Oh yeah, and I know that Bruckford isn't a real town in Asteria… but it's MY town nao! :3 MUAHAHAH!!!**

**And for a short reminder: Faith is 15 years old, while Kesh is 14.**

**I DO NOT OWN +ANIMA!!!**

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Faith just stared as Kesh stepped foreword, the moonlight playing over his skin and features. Kesh looked around, his shadow a ghost compared to how he looked right now.

Faith watched as the moons light shifted on Kesh's face as he turned around. A smile was on his face as he asked, "Are you coming?"

Faith just nodded. She slid out of the forest, walking next to Kesh.

"So… do you know what town this is?" Faith asked casually as the forest was slowly left behind.

Kesh nodded. "Sure do. It's called Bruckford: The city of sunlight."

Faith just nodded, slightly curious as to how he'd know the town's name. But she just kept her pace up, so as not to fall behind due to her questioning thoughts. A silence surrounded them as their walk continued, the only sounds of the fading forest and the night air above slicing through its fragile frame. Faith had never been this far away from home, nor had she ever been to another town before. And to be truthful, she actually liked it.

Only to have the silence be cut through by a gurgling stomach.

Faith's head turned to Kesh. Kesh's eyes had grown wide, and he was keeping silent. He looked back over at her. "What?"

"Don't you 'what' me." Faith said in a teasing tone. "I heard that."

In the strong moonlight, Faith managed to notice a hue of red on his cheeks. "Heard what?" He asked. She couldn't help but give him credit; he was good at acting innocent.

She grinned crookedly before saying, "Sounds like you're hungry."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Faith?"

"Yeah?"

Kesh stared at her for a while; the red color on his cheeks had disappeared altogether. Faith actually felt awkward under his gaze, the intensity of it sending shivers up and down her spine.

Finally, he looked away, staring back down at the grass below his feet. "Nothing." He muttered.

Faith just shrugged and looked back towards the town that was steadily coming closer. "Hey, Kesh? Have you ever been to this town before?"

Kesh looked back at Faith before answering, "Nope. Although, I've heard of it before."

Faith nodded and stretched, already feeling the damp feeling of sleep creep into her body. She began to walk a little bit faster, fueled by excitement.

Kesh cocked an eyebrow at her before matching her pace. "Hey, what's with the rush?"

"I just really want to get to the town. I've never been to another town before!" Faith said her voice the only thing that was full of energy.

Kesh stared at her harder. "It doesn't look like you're in a good mood to walk. You're eyes are slightly bloodshot."

Faith turned to look at him. "Really?" She asked, blinking a few times and wincing at the stinging feeling it brought.

Kesh nodded and looked back ahead. He grinned slightly. "You can slow down now."

Faith looked forward too, stopping her fast pace and slowing down to follow Kesh's slow pace. The town wasn't that far anymore. In fact, it looked like it was only a few yards away.

As soon as they made it to the town's entrance, which was a tall iron gate with a surrounding wall around the city, the two confronted the town guards and gained access, never noticing the pair of amber eyes that was watching them from the shadows.

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"This is Bruckford?" Faith asked. She looked around the town before her. Wooden taverns with creaking signs swung lazily in the night air, sending small sounds throughout the nearly-silent town. Shady passer-bys walked along the cobblestone streets, stopping at inns and pubs along the way. Old-fashioned buildings populated the sidelines of the streets, some having signs while others didn't. But the one that mainly caught Faith's attention was a building that had a sign that said 'Books' on it.

"Yeah." Kesh managed to say, before Faith instantly walked over to the book store. "Hey, wait!" He called, before hurrying after her. _Doesn't that girl know that it's dangerous to be alone at night?_

Faith stopped at a window that allowed the public to view the galore of books that the store held. Faith's eyes grew wide like a child's as she viewed all of the books. There were bookshelves and bookshelves of them, rousing Faith's curiosity instantly and snapping her awake.

"Wow…" She whispered. Her happiness was interrupted, as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Instantly, she swung her arm around and managed to hit the person's cheek before she got a good view of him.

Kesh stared at her as she brought her arm back to her side, his cheek now a shade of red. She could hit hard.

Faith stared at Kesh in response. "Kesh…" She burst out laughing at his expression. She couldn't quite name it, but it was a cross between shocked and trying not to explode in her face and attract attention from anyone.

Kesh's eye twitched slightly before he lifted his hand to his face, his hand touching his new bruise on his cheek. He grinned slightly before reaching forward with his other hand and grabbing hers. "Come on…" He mumbled before dragging her away from the book store.

Faith took one last longing look at the store before following Kesh as he dragged her towards what looked like an inn. One glance confirmed her suspicions.

"If you don't mind my asking, but what was it with you and that book store?" Kesh asked finally.

Faith glanced over at him before replying, "Well… I've never seen a book store before. I've only heard of them in stories, so I was curious as to what they were like…" She shuffled her feet nervously.

Kesh just glanced at her before stopping in front of the inn. He released Faith's hand before pushing open the door, causing a creaking sound to come from the hinges.

A warm light seeped through the opening, inviting Kesh and Faith in as they entered. About six or seven tables were spread out along the main floor, a bar off to the side. A fireplace flickered on the right wall, its light illuminating almost everything in its ray. A small gray tabby cat was lying in front of the hearth, its fur lit up from the flame's light.

"Hm. Not a bad place." Faith said. It strangely reminded her of the farm. She didn't know how, perhaps the feeling of warmth that it gave her? Or perhaps the design of the place? She didn't know.

Kesh walked over to the bar and spoke to the bar tender. The man behind the counter nodded at Kesh's words and glanced over at Faith before looking back at Kesh. Finally, the man spoke a few words to Kesh and pointed upstairs, before Kesh returned.

"Ok, he's giving us two rooms: one for you, and one for me." Kesh said before leading Faith upstairs to the second floor. The hallway was about four meters long, doors bordering the walls that surrounded it.

Kesh lead Faith down the hall until he stopped about a quarter of the way down the hall. He gestured at the room and said, "That's your room…" He then pointed at a room across the hall, and was kitty-corner to Faith's. "And that's my room."

Faith nodded and slowly pushed open her door. Inside was a normal twin-sized bed with white sheets, a small wardrobe on the left wall, and a chest at the foot of the bed.

Faith looked back to see that Kesh was already at his room. "Good night." Faith said. She turned around, managing to see Kesh turn to face her out of the corner of her eyes and say "Good night" before she entered her room and closed the door behind her.

Faith sighed and walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge. She rested her elbows on her knees and rested her forehead on her hand.

_Bruckford, huh? _Her mind thought as she turned her body and leaned back to where she was lying on the bed without the covers. _I think I might like this town… _Faith's eyes slowly closed, before sleep finally took over her body.

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**UGH! I really hate this chapter! DD: *holds out hand* slap me if you have to! ):**

**Kesh: *stares at me* Well… you're very optimistic today, aren't you?**

**Me: D': I've been so lazy on this chapter! And I feel so bad!!! DD:**

… ***sniffle***


	8. I Hate Mondays

**W00t! I went to Afest last week and it was AWESOME EPICNESS!!!**

**Kesh: You're too cheerful…**

**Me: Well, look who's talking!**

**Jae: When do I get a story?**

**Me: You're my fursona, so I might give you a comic.**

**Jae: Sweet XD**

**Faith: Where did she come from?**

**Me: Idk. She's supposed to be on deviantart… and my imagination… o.0**

**I DO NOT OWN +ANIMA!!!!**

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"Good morning!"

Faith's eyes cracked open, squinting even more at the cylinders of sunlight that spilled in through the two windows in her room. She brought up her hand to her face, moaning as she rubbed the sleep out of them. She lazily lifted her head, staring at a smiling girl that looked about her age. Her skin was a dark tan color, while her hair was a jet black, mirroring how dark the shadows were on a darkened night. Her eyes were an amazingly dark green, like the color of a darkened emerald.

"Um… hi?" Faith said as she sat up, stretching her arms in the process.

The girl got a worried look on her face. "Oh, I'm sorry! Did I wake you?"

_What do you think? _Faith couldn't help but think before saying, "No, no! I've actually been awake this whole time, just resting my eyes a bit."

The girl just looked at Faith skeptically. "Well, I'm here to clean your room. I'm sorry to wake you."

"You didn't wa-" Faith didn't have time to finish as the girl walked out, closing the door securely behind her. Faith sighed and swung her legs off of the bed and onto the wood floor, a small creak resounding from the pale slabs.

She wordlessly walked to the door, running a hand over her outfit to try to smooth out the wrinkles before opening the door. It had been quite a while since she'd been inside of a building. She almost missed the fresh air and the sound of the wildlife, and especially the sound of the night wind as it slithered through the large tree trunks in the forest.

The floor boards seemed to creak more as Faith made her way down the stairs and to the bar downstairs. She was slightly shocked to see an increase in number of people there, not that it bothered her too much. After all, it was an inn and her +anima form wasn't out.

"So you're up, huh?" Faith turned her head at a warm female voice. A slightly overweight woman with dark golden locks that flowed down to her shoulders in a wavy pattern walked over to where Faith was. Dark brown eyes stared out at everyone with a gleam that seemed to show how much she cared for everyone, along with a steely look to them.

"Um yes…" Faith, feeling slightly awkward to be talked to by a complete stranger.

The woman chuckled at Faith's guarded expression. "It's alright, dear. I'm Mrs. Hogart, but you can just call me Margaret. I'm the owner of the inn. I do believe that my brother over there," She gestured towards the gangly bar tender that had checked Faith and Kesh in, "Checked you into the inn. Well, I hope you have a good time!" She was about to turn away before she asked, "Where's that blonde boy that was with you?"

Faith shrugged. "Probably sleeping the day away, as usual." She said calmly. "I'm probably going to look around the town. Could you tell him where I'm at when he wakes up?"

Mrs. Hogart – err, Margaret nodded and resumed to serving customers. Faith just sighed and walked out the door to the warm air outside.

The town had more activity than last night. More people populated the street, wandering from one store to the next in hopes of a cheap price. Birds were swooping around, their high-pitched cries echoing in the morning air. Faith stared at the small animals, still wondering what it was like to fly.

She gently kicked the pavement, feeling slightly awkward as her thoughts had then strayed to Kesh. Leaving the inn behind, Faith joined the hectic group of people wandering around.

_I wonder what there is to do here… _Faith's thoughts murmured as she looked at the town's plethora of shops and inns. Her green eyes flicked from one swinging sign to the next, until her eyes finally settled on one sign that had caught her attention the night before. The old, faded painting of the book seemed to stare back at Faith its brown cover wide open.

Faith grinned and maneuvered herself to the book store, her hand reaching for the knob. _Well… maybe there's _something _I can do._

The door creaked softly as she swung it open, the door opening to a right angle, allowing sunlight to pour in. The store had wall-to-wall mahogany bookshelves, each one containing more books than the last. Some books littered the floor; covers open to a random page. Old, faded paintings hung over some of the bookshelves giving it an old look.

Faith just glanced around before nearly jumping at the sound of a feeble voice coming from one of the bookshelves. "Oh! Excuse me, for a moment! I just have my hands full." It croaked. Faith slowly closed the door behind her, pulling her body through the door fully.

After a few minutes, a wrinkled face peered around one of the bookshelves. The man grinned a toothy grin and said, "Well hello there, young lady. What can I do for you?" He walked around the bookshelves until he was standing a few feet in front of the girl. He was a very short man, and looked as if he could perish as easily as the books that surrounded him.

Faith shrugged and just replied with a, "I don't really know. I've never actually read a book…"

The old man nodded his head, his furry eyebrows narrowed. "Ah." He said his mind elsewhere. "Would you like for me to recommend one?"

"Yes, please." Faith said kindly. For some reason, she liked the old man. He may seem fragile, but he had some strong feel about him that blended with his shop well.

The man led Faith over to one of the book cases. His pale eyes roamed its contents before blinking a few times and grabbing one of the books off of the shelf. He looked down at the cover to make sure that it was the right copy, before turning the book around to where Faith could read the title correctly.

"_+Anima" _The title read. The cover art was of a little boy, seeming to be the age of 10 or 11, with wings coming out of his shoulders. In the background were 3 other faces. Two of them were girls - one with brownish-blonde hair, and the other with silver - and the other was a boy that looked to be about 17 or 18 with dark, ashen colored hair.

Faith's eyes grew wide. _H-How…? _She thought, unable to take her eyes off of the gold lettering on the cover.

The old man only had to glance at her shocked expression to pull the book back to him. "Is there something wrong?" He asked.

Faith blinked a few times, trying to calm herself down before she could start blabbing off about her +Anima form. "N-no. Nothing's wrong." She managed to say, but she couldn't help herself from asking, "Um… sir? How come this book is called +Anima? I mean, aren't +Anima not r-"

"Good morning!"

Faith's mouth closed at the sound of a familiar 'good morning.' She turned her head and looked at the same girl that had woken her up that morning.

She heard the old man chuckle. "Good morning to yourself, Jade. And might I say that you're rather early!" He walked towards the girl, still smiling widely.

Jade smiled back, her jet black hair dyed a dark blue from the sunlight that still slanted through the window. "Aw, you know I'm never early! And you make it sound like it's a bad thing!" She was about to say something else when she noticed another person in the room. Jade turned her head and found herself staring back at the same girl from that morning.

Faith shifted uncomfortably under the girl's dark green eyes. They somewhat creep her out, but she didn't show it. "Good morning." Faith said, wondering what was going through Jade's mind at the moment.

Jade blinked and said, "I'm still sorry about waking you this morning! I work at the inn as housekeeping, and I thought that you might have left…"

Faith shrugged. "It's ok." She said casually, "Besides, you didn't wake me."

Jade's eyes narrowed. "Ok then…"

Faith couldn't help but cock an eyebrow. _Jeez, what's up with this girl?_

The old man cleared his throat, obviously sensing slight tension in the air. "Well, um… Jade, this is…"

"Faith." Faith instantly said, stretching her arms out in front of her.

The man nodded. "Faith. I'm Mr. Barnet, and this is Jade. Jade usually comes by to visit, and will sometimes work every-now-and-then."

Jade nodded, her smile returning. "Yep! I love the bookstore. I don't know what it is; I guess it's just the thought of being near so many good books." She then glanced around at the collection, her eyes then finishing on the old man. Her eyes then took in +Anima, which Mr. Barnet still hadn't let go of.

Jade cocked an eyebrow. "You're showing her _that_ book?" She asked a small teasing tone in her voice.

Mr. Barnet nodded. "Oh, yes. It's one of my favorite stories! The adventures that they go on and the new people that they meet, oh, it almost makes me wish that I could be a +anima too!" He grinned as his eyes stared off into the distance, obviously thinking about his fantasy of being a +anima.

_If only he knew…_ Faith watched Jade as she sighed, some small emotion flash in her eyes. "Yeah, but remember how they're treated because of how different they are?" Jade asked her kindness had seeped out of her voice, and was replaced with a seriousness that froze Mr. Barnet's fantasy. "Their lives apparently aren't easy."

Mr. Barnet just shook his head. "I know, I know… it just sounds like fun though…" Faith walked over as he mumbled under his breath, knowing that Jade's words were true. He looked up as Faith came into his vision. "Ah, yes! The book." He then took the book out of his arms and handed it to Faith.

Faith's fingers gripped onto the old binding on the novel, feeling the stitching that held it in place. Her mind was still confused with the title, but just mumbled a 'thanks' and flipped the book open to the first page.

"There are chairs and a table over there, if you'd like to sit down." Mr. Barnet said, pointing a wrinkled finger over to a corner that Faith hadn't noticed before. She smiled thankfully and thanked him before walking to the chairs that surrounded a medium-sized circular table. After sitting down, she set the book down on the table and opened it once more.

Only to lift her head at the sound of another body sitting in the seat next to her. She had already guessed who it was as she said, "So… what kind of books do you like to read?"

Faith looked over at Jade. "I don't know. I haven't read a book in a long time, so I have no idea."

Jade stared at Faith for a moment before saying, "You don't really seem like the reading type. You seem more like a person that likes to do active things…" She shrugged and continued, "Oh well! How long are you going to stay at the inn?"

A grin began to make its way across Faith's face; she could grow to like this girl…

And, before she knew it, she was telling Jade everything. Except the fact of her and Kesh being +anima.

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A groan came from the layers of sheets that covered the waking boy on the bed.

Kesh lifted his head drowsily, the sunlight dancing on his features. He rubbed his forehead sleepily as memories of the night before, and the times before, came back into his head.

"Ugh… Five more minutes…" He moaned, rolling over to his right. A loud _thud _was soon heard as both boy and sheets tumbled to the floor below. Kesh moaned as the blankets settled around him, making him look like a large marshmallow amongst the brown wood flooring.

"Fine then… I'll get up!" Kesh moaned again as he slowly rose from the white folds. He shook his body slightly to rid himself of the rest of the sheets, before stepping over them to get to the door.

He blinked lazily, trying to clear his eyesight. The floor boards creaked with tension as his hand finally reached for the door, gripping onto the wall. He slowly began to push the door open until he froze, realizing that he was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts that he had changed into for the night.

He then closed the door, hoping that nobody saw him through the crack that the door had made. The floor boards creaked again as he turned around and walked back to the edge of the bed; it was the spot where he had tossed his clothes the other night. He wasn't paying attention until he had run into the post on the bed, groaning as pain raced up and down his body.

_This is not a good morning… _Kesh thought bitterly as he rubbed his eyes to try to clear them. He finally reached for his shirt and pants, slipping them on before finally proceeding downstairs.

"Good morning, Kesh!" Mrs. Hogart said cheerfully as the – still tired – boy made an appearance. She grinned at him as he replied back with a, "Morning, Mrs. H."

A small giggle escaped Mrs. Hogart's rosy lips as Kesh yawned widely. "Still not getting enough sleep, I see." She observed, handing him a small mug of water.

Kesh nodded, taking a sip from his water. He blinked furiously as sleep once again tried to take over his defenseless body. He managed to crack a grin. "Well, it's like I say: who needs sleep when you have so much stuff to do?" He said.

The innkeeper chuckled. "Well, I suppose you're right on that one. Most adults are forced to stay up to work on unfinished business." She chuckled again before turning around.

Kesh was about to do the same when he heard Mrs. Hogart's voice again. "Oh, who is this Faith that you've recently brought here?"

Kesh blinked as he turned around. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Mrs. Hogart shrugged. "I mean: Who is she? Is she a relative? Friend? Girlfrie-"

"Friend." Kesh said quickly, not letting the woman finish her sentence. "She's just a friend."

A sly smile spread across Mrs. Hogart's face, causing goose bumps to rise on Kesh's back. "Ok, if you say so…" She stared at Kesh, seeming to pierce his soul.

Kesh couldn't help but shiver slightly. _Has she always been this creepy? _He thought. He nearly turned away as a new thought came to his head. "Speaking of Faith: where is she?"

Mrs. Hogart's expression disappeared as she replied. "She said that she went to look around the town. Other than that, I have no idea."

Kesh nodded and quickly made his way to the door. "Thanks, Mrs. H!" He stepped out into the sunshine, the door closing with a soft _thump _behind him.

Mrs. Hogart smiled. "'Friend?'" She smirked, remembering very clearly how her husband had described how Kesh had looked at his "friend."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"He didn't!"

"Oh, but he did!" Faith laughed. "I think I still have a bruise on my back from the fall!" The two doubled over and laughed. Faith couldn't believe that stories about Kesh could make Jade and, even her, laugh so hard.

"Well…" Jade gasped, regaining control over her body, "I need to meet this Kesh sometime. He seems interesting!"

Faith smirked. "Oh yeah, he's _so _interesting! He'll probably just shrug and shoot off an insult about you being 'bipolar like Faith'." Faith breathed in deeply, gaining control over her body.

Jade just grinned again, leaning back in her chair. She stayed relaxed like that for a while before she asked, "So, what does he look like?"

"Look like?" Faith said, stretching her arms above her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… what does he look like?" Jade asked again, turning her head back towards Faith. "Is he hideous, is he cute, is he hot, is he shy, is he se-"

"Not hot!" Faith said quickly, not wanting Jade to finish her sentence. "He's not hot… but I think he just looks average…"

Jade cocked and eyebrow before sighing and standing up. "Well, I need to get back to the inn. My next shift is up soon."

Faith nodded. She had nearly forgotten about Jade's occupation at the inn. "Okay. Could I come?"

Jade smirked. "You're staying there, right? So you don't need to ask."

Faith grinned and stood up, following Jade out the door while waving a good-bye to Mr. Barnet. The streets were as crowded as ever, loud and obnoxious noise holding the scene in check. The two girls skirted the crowd as best they could, keeping a wary eye on some people, before finally arriving at the inn's door. They entered quickly, closing the door behind them.

"Welcome back, girls!" Mrs. Hogart said cheerfully. She seemed to notice everything that went on in her inn, even when some people never notice.

"Hi! I'm back for my shift!" Jade said cheerfully.

Mrs. Hogart smiled back at her and gestured to the bar – which Faith was guessing, was where the employees go to sign in – turning to Faith afterwards. "So, what did you two do?"

Faith shrugged. "We just talked, mainly about what happened whilst I and Kesh traveled here." She said, unable to resist the temptation to smile with the cheery woman; her smile was contagious.

"Ah. Well, I'll have to hear it sometime!" She then glanced over Faith's shoulder. "Speaking of Kesh: where is he?"

Faith looked at her quizzically. "Um… was he supposed to be with me?"

"No, not really. He woke up about an hour ago, and asked about you. I told him that you were out and he left to look for you." She shrugged. "I just thought that maybe you two met up at some point, that's all."

Faith couldn't help but sigh, placing her hands on her hips and leaning back slightly. "Of all people Kesh, you just_ had_ to get lost…" She mumbled. "I'll go look for him." Faith said, turning around.

"Ok then… but be careful." Mrs. Hogart said, still watching as Faith exited the inn and walked amongst the cobblestone streets again.

Time seemed to pass by much faster than usual, the shadows moving around to where the sunset was just appearing over the dull horizon. Faith rolled her shoulders as she tried to relieve some of the stress that was in it. _Holy crap, Kesh! Did you run off back to the woods, or something? _Faith thought crossly as she came back to the same clothing store that she'd passed about twelve times now.

"This is hopeless!" Faith moaned, turning back around and walking back. "I'm just going to walk back to the inn, and say a few simple words such as: 'Oh, Kesh? Well, he apparently decided to run a marathon and never return without figuring out the meaning of life.'" She slightly smirked at her words before focusing back on returning to the inn.

She only became frustrated as she realized that she was still passing the same stores over and over again. She stopped in her tracks and looked around, still thoroughly confused.

_You've gotta be kidding me! _She thought frustratingly. The sunset was mid-way in the sky, threatening to shroud everything in darkness soon.

Faith's footsteps quickened, trying to at least make _some _progress! She rounded another corner – one that seemed familiar, thank God! – And continued walking.

Only to stop at the sound of footsteps.

Faith froze, not sure if she'd heard that right. No sounds came to her ears except for the occasional bird that fluttered around in search of their nest for the night. She continued walking, brushing off the sound as her imagination's doing. She heard it again, though.

Faith didn't stop again. Her heart was beating erratically with each step, only causing her fear to rise. The footsteps seemed to match hers as she rounded another corner, which led her to an alleyway.

She continued down it, hearing the footsteps echo behind her. Another corner soon presented itself before her. Faith was close to running by then, but she stayed put and turned the corner.

Only to find a dead end.

Faith cursed under her breath, searching for a way out. After a while, her mind began to tease her and convince her otherwise. _You're being foolish, _It chided, _it's probably just Kesh, and you're just making a big scene out of it._

Faith mentally grinned and turned back to the entrance of the alley, watching as two silhouettes appeared. As soon as they came into focus, her mental smile disappeared: because it sure as hell wasn't Kesh.

"Hey, look what we have here," One of them said a toothy smile placating his features, "A poor, lost girl."

"Awww…. Do you think we can help?" The second guy said the same grin on his face. He advanced towards Faith, his eyes flashing to where Faith couldn't help but let her fox teeth slide out.

"Go away. Now." Faith said through gritted teeth. In the shadow of the alley, the men couldn't see the sharp canines that adorned her mouth.

"Oh, look," The first man said, "She's scared…"

-------

_Hmm… let's see… I woke up to me falling out of my bed. Then I nearly walked out of my room wearing nothing but my underwear… and then I managed to injure my toe. And now, for the icing on the cake: Faith's missing! _Brown-speckled wings beat against the wind as Kesh fumed in his mind. _Today sucks!_

His eyes stared down at the town below, trying to find at least some one that looked like the auburn-haired girl.

_If I don't find her… _His, snarling, thoughts were cut short as he glided over an alleyway. Three people were near one of the back corners. One looked somewhere between furious, and scared. The other two were advancing upon the first person, their strides not friendly.

"Sucks for that person…" Kesh muttered. He'd heard about that place. It was a common target point for people. "They should've been smarter than to…" He let his voice trail off as he focused on the person in the corner. His calm demeanor was replaced with a shocked one as he found himself staring at the worried face of Faith.

_Holy crap! Faith!? _Kesh's mind shouted. _What the hell are you doing!?_

Kesh narrowed his eyes at the two strangers and angled his wings to where he was plummeting down to the alleyway below, swearing under his breath the whole time.

_Great, so now I have to reveal my +anima self to a couple of pervs… how great. _He thought bitterly as the ground came rushing up to meet him.

He could clearly hear them now. "Go away. Now." He heard Faith growl. Kesh couldn't help but grin. _Still not giving up? _He thought.

"Oh look…" One of the men said. "She's scared…" Kesh glared at him.

"Oh hell she is!" He snapped loudly. The two strangers froze and looked up, just in time to have Kesh kick one roughly in the back of his head. He moaned and sank to the ground, unconscious on the dusty ground.

The second guy just stared at Kesh as he landed, sliding his wings back into his scars. Kesh stared back before advancing, anger pulsing through him like wild-fire.

The man's own eyes narrowed before folding his fingers into a tight fist. He held them up. "You might as well leave! I can kill you here and now; no one's going to steel our broad!" He spat.

Faith glared at the man. _What did he just call me? _She thought bitterly. She began to march towards him herself, but Kesh had already beaten her to it. In seconds, he had the man pinned up against the wall, glaring about 5 million ways on how to murder into his skull.

"_Your _broad?" He growled angrily. "Last time I checked, she didn't belong to anyone! She's not some pet that you can drag around, and control whenever you want!" Kesh's knuckles had turned white by then, gripping onto the man tightly. With one last glare, he threw him to the side. The man groaned as he hit the concrete, instantly sitting up afterwards.

"Leave. Now." Kesh hissed. His usual warm, blue eyes were as cold as ice. The man gulped and nodded before getting up and sprinting off, not even turning around to help his fallen comrade.

Faith just stared at Kesh, trying to recollect what just happened.

_H-He just… s-saved me? _She thought quietly. Kesh turned around and stared at her, his eyes softening. Faith felt her cheeks turn a light hue of pink as she said, "U-um… thanks."

Kesh smirked and stretched, acting as if the scene that just happened a moment ago never happened. "Sure. Just, don't go running off again, ok?"

Faith nodded and walked up to Kesh, stepping over the unconscious man in the process. Kesh watched her as she stood in front of him.

Her eyes narrowed. "I could've handled that on my own, you know!" She hissed. "You don't have to save me every time!"

Kesh glared back down at her. "Well, it looked like you needed help! You weren't doing anything! And, besides, you wouldn't have been a match for them… they would've taken you."

Faith opened her mouth to say something before closing it and hanging her head. "Sorry…" She mumbled. She walked foreword, towards the corner she had turned before ending up here. She glanced back at Kesh. "You coming?"

Kesh glanced back and nodded. "Yeah." After giving one last glare at the man next to him, he turned and walked back to Faith.

_I should've killed them! _He thought angrily, before smiling at Faith and following her back to the inn.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

**OH MY FREAKING GOD!!!**

**This is the longest chapter in RoF so far!!! Its 12 pages long!!! :O**

**I'm SO SORRY for how long it took for me to write this! This is very overdue! So I apologize to you all! I will try to write faster… but will probably fail due to my laziness.**

**Anyways, we can see here that something is going on in the story, but what? What could it be? Hmmm…. (If you can guess correctly, I'll give you a cookie!!!)**

**Bye! : P**


	9. Festivals Can Do So Much

***leans over and sips on hot chocolate* Mm… life's good…**

**AAAH! *snaps head to right at the sound of warrior-like yelling* What the he-? *nearly gets kicked in face as a leg (and body) goes flying pass.**

**WHAT THE CRAP!? NAZO!!!**

**Nazo: Why. Aren't. You. Working. On. Bond. Of. Flame!?**

**Me: U-um… well, I'm currently working on RoF, but I'm working on urs too- *ducks as Nazo goes flying past again* *then hears cracking sound***

**Me: NAZO! Did you seriously just bitch-slap my window!?**

**Nazo: Yes. Yes I did!**

**Me: Well… you did a good job.**

**Nazo: Zanku :3**

**Me: -_- *shoves Nazo down airduct* Sorry about that, she's in my bleach fanfic *which is currently on dA* so she keeps bugging me… Anyways, please enjoy the next chapte- Oh my god: she's climbing up the airduct!**

**Btw – this chapter takes place 4 days after the last chapter.**

**P.S. This is a filler chapter… with an IMPORTANT THING! :3**

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"Faith!"

Faith moaned and rolled over onto her stomach, doing the best she could to block out the sound of a fist pounding against her door.

"Faith! Get that lazy-ass carcass of yours out of bed right now and come here!" Kesh glared at the door before screaming again. "Fai-"

Kesh was silenced as Faith ripped the door open and launched her fist at his face. It made harsh contact, causing Kesh to fall to the floor with a small trickle of blood coming out of his nose. Faith's, usually calm, green eyes were flashing as she stared down at Kesh. Kesh stared back up at her. Her hair shadowed her eyes to where the whites of her eyes were shining from the sunlight behind her. Her hair was also messed up and was spiked out everywhere, like millions of knives. And her hands were gripping onto the doorframe; she gripped it so hard to where her knuckles were white.

"Kesh…" She said slowly. Her voice seemed deeper than usual. "Can I ask you something?" When the boy didn't answer, she said, "Why the hell are you waking me up so early in the morning?"

Kesh stared up at her, feeling his blood drizzle down to his lips by now. "W-well… I…"

"You don't have a reason-" Faith leaned foreword "-_do_ you?"

Kesh stood slowly, Faith's eyes not leaving his. "Well no… but…"

Kesh moaned again as Faith's leg darted out and pounded against his shin. He lifted his leg and gently rubbed it. "No reason?" Faith hissed. Yep, she was a demon of hell.

Kesh finally narrowed his eyes. "I had a reason: I was told to wake you up. How about that?"

Faith's expression instantly changed. "Really?" She said. Her voice was back to normal again. "Cool! Let's go downstairs, then!" She was about to go downstairs, when she realized what she was wearing. She was wearing a thin white t-shirt and baggy shorts that only went about two inches down her thigh. Her face instantly turned pink as she realized how long she'd been standing in front of Kesh like this.

The door closed with a slam before she quickly raced to change into her clothes, hoping that Kesh hadn't noticed…

After she was done, she walked out of her room, closing the door behind her. She turned to leave, when she noticed that Kesh was looking at her oddly. She turned back to face him. "What?"

"I thought you were going to wear the outfit that you were just wearing." Faith stared at him for a moment before Kesh asked, "Why are you blushing? It's no big deal."

Faith just wordlessly turned back around and walked down the stairs to the main floor. Kesh just sighed and rolled his eyes at her and followed.

"Good morning!" Jade said happily as she caught sight of Faith walking down the stairs. She ran up with a bowl of fruit in her hands.

Faith stared at the fruit hungrily before reaching over and plucking an apple slice out of it. She swallowed it before Jade could say anything. Dark green met light green as the two friends stared at each other. Faith just smiled and walked around her to get her own breakfast.

Jade stared after her before looking back to see Kesh stretching as he stepped off of the last step. Jade's curious aspects of how he looked were answered as Faith and Kesh had returned a few days ago from their search party. She had to admit that she imagined him differently, but he at least didn't look hideous…

"Don't mind if I do." Kesh said as he snatched an orange that was on top of the other fruits. Jade just silently glared at him before sighing.

"Do you just _have _to take my food?" She mumbled, watching as he got his own plate of food.

Kesh just grinned at her and said, "Yes. It's a hobby of mine… You should try it."

Jade forced herself to resist the urge to launch her bowl of fruit at him. "You'd better shut-up before I launch this bowl at your pretty face."

Kesh stared at her playfully. "Pretty? So you think I'm cute to-" He was cut off as he felt a playful punch hit his arm. He looked next to him to see Faith. "Would you two stop your flirting?" She said as she sat down.

Jade gave one last glare at Kesh before sitting down next to Faith. Kesh shrugged and sat next to the auburn-haired fox +anima.

"Did you guys hear about how there's supposed to be a festival today?" Jade asked as she took a bite out of her apple.

Faith shook her head. "No. I didn't hear about it… What's a festival like?" She said, folding her legs to where she was sitting cross-legged in her chair. Jade looked at her for a while before leaning back in her chair.

"I don't know. I've never been to one either." She giggled slightly before leaning foreword again. "I've heard that they're fun, though."

Faith turned to Kesh, who was eating silently as they talked. "What about you, Kesh?" She asked. He looked up at her before answering. "I've been to a few before, but I don't know what this one will be like."

"Well, at least it will be a surprise for the three of us." Jade said, standing. "It should start soon, from what I hear." She turned around before saying that she was going to change. She then walked upstairs, leaving her food behind.

Kesh just sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing them with the palms of his hands. Faith looked over at him. "Are you rubbing your face because of how I punched you?" Faith bit her lower lip. "Ok, I'm sorry about that. You were just pissing me off in the early morning… which is not a good time… so I'm sorry!"

Kesh glanced up at her, his eyebrow cocked. "What? No. It's not that. And, besides, you were tired. Perfectly understandable." He leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed once again.

Faith stared at him before asking, "Well, is it because you're tired?"

"No." A moan-like reply came from the boy. He leaned foreword again, stretching his arms above his head.

Faith opened her mouth to ask another question before she heard the inn-keeper's voice. "Good morning!" She said happily as she walked over to the two friends. Faith glanced up at Mrs. Hogart before smiling. "Good morning!" She said in response.

Mrs. Hogart's smile widened as she asked, "So, are you two going to the festival?"

Faith nodded, excitement rushing through her at the mention of the event. "Yes ma'am!" She said happily. "Erm… what's the festival for?"

"No reason. It's just a festival that we have once every year." She turned her head at the sound of customers before walking towards them, leaving the two behind.

_A festival for no apparent reason? That's weird… _Faith thought as she watched Mrs. Hogart walk off.

"So, when do we leave?" A happy voice said. Faith looked over to see Jade standing next to the table with her hands on its brown surface. She was wearing her casual outfit: black pants with a black tank top, along with a pair of black arm-socks that covered most of her arms.

"You guys can leave now!" Mrs. Hogart called as she listened in on their conversation. Faith stared at her, wondering if maybe Mrs. Hogart was part bat…

"Great!" Jade said happily, she instantly dashed to the door. She tapped her foot impatiently as she noticed Kesh and Faith's tired expressions. "Come on you lazy tards! Let's go!" Without further ado, she shoved the door open and walked out into the sunlight.

Faith narrowed her eyes in hurried towards the door, glancing back to see Kesh matching her pace. She smirked before opening the door and stepping outside.

"Whoa." She said quietly. The town didn't look like its normal self, it looked so alien. The shops were decorated with colorful banners announcing the festival, rainbow streamers, and different signs. Some tables had been set up and were selling goods to most people that walked past, while some were just there for show.

"Imagine what the town would be like if it looked like this everyday!" Jade said with wonder as she gazed around.

"Well, good morning you three!" The three friends turned to see Mr. Barnet walking over with a basket of books in his hand.

The three welcomed him back before Faith asked, "What are the books for?"

Mr. Barnet grinned and replied, "Well, I have a few people that I need to deliver stuff to. Can you believe it? They need books delivered on the day of the festival!" He smiled and shook his head, in a good mood as always. "But, no matter! I will not rest until my customers are pleased!"

Faith smiled at him, his joyous aura affecting her. "That's a good motto… but would you rather us deliver it?" She could swear that she heard Jade growl in the background, and perhaps Kesh shift his feet uncomfortably.

"Oh no, that's alright. I need the exercise anyways. And besides, this is your first time attending our yearly festival!" Mr. Barnet said, shifting the basket to his other arm.

"Are you sure?" Faith asked. Okay, now she could _clearly _hear Jade hissing a complaint under her breath.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure." Mr. Barnet walked forwards, past the trio. "You kids have fun!" He called back, before making his way through the hazardous crowd that seemed to have doubled in size.

Faith watched him go, before turning back to her friends. Jade was glaring at her, dark emerald eyes lit with fury. "Are you crazy?" She said sharply. "You could've spoiled our chances of seeing the festival!"

Faith cocked an eyebrow. "Wow, Jade, I thought that you liked helping Old Man Barnet." She shrugged. "Guess not…"

Jade just huffed out a breath and turned back to the crowd. "Whatever, let's just see what the festival's like!"

Faith just rolled her eyes when Jade wasn't looking and followed her black-haired friend as she proceeded into the crowd. Word to the wise: Never. Walk into a large crowd that's in a festival. You will most likely get either a) trampled, or b) killed, whichever you prefer.

As soon as they made it to the center where food was being served, Faith's feet were already sore. "Man, who knew that walking around for only a few minutes could tire you out." She glanced over and narrowed her eyes sharply as she noticed that Jade looked perfectly fine. In fact, she looked hyper and full of energy.

Jade noticed this and looked back over at Faith. "What?" She asked. Kesh walked up to them, hands in his pockets. As soon as he noticed the tension around them, he sighed and said, "If you guys are going to fight, then can you please move. I'm starving!"

Faith glanced up at him. His expression hadn't changed since that morning. He seemed as if he wasn't paying attention to anything around him, just letting himself drift along with everyone else.

"Hey, are you sure you're alright?" Faith asked, staring at Kesh intently. Kesh turned and looked at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said. Faith opened her mouth to say something else, so Kesh instantly cut her off by asking, "So, is anyone else hungry besides me?"

Jade shook her head. "No, I'm good. What I really want to do is try out some of the games here!" She walked around Kesh to Faith before grabbing her hand. "How about it, Faith? Want to go play something?"

Faith shrugged. "Sure, ok." She glanced over at Kesh, still curious about his behavior, before allowing Jade to drag her back through the hectic crowd. She was slightly shocked to find out that Jade could slip through the crowd with ease, while Faith stumbled and tripped behind her. Her hand had slipped out of hers numerous times before Jade finally agreed to match Faith's pace. This only took longer…

"We made it!" Jade said happily as they found themselves standing in front of a row of tables. They were lined up, side-by-side, and each one had some type of game on it. Faith would've shared in the enthusiasm, if there weren't so many people lined up.

"Um… yeah." Faith said slowly. Before she could even share her thoughts, Jade had already taken off towards one of the tables.

Faith sighed as she heard her elbowing her way through the crowd. Today was going to be a long day…

- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Wasn't that the greatest day _ever_?" Jade squealed happily as they walked back towards the inn. She had managed to win herself a large stuffed bear in one of the games, and had paraded around with it instantly.

Faith and Kesh just groaned, too tired to argue with the tan-skinned girl. Where the hell did she get so much energy, anyway?

Jade sighed, noticing their attitudes. "Well, _I _thought it was." She said, squeezing her bear harder. "I don't get how you guys couldn't get through the crowds like I could. I mean, it was child's-play for me."

"Yeah, well not for us." Kesh muttered, looking over at Jade. "Where did you learn to do that anyway?"

Jade's face instantly went blank. Not in a confused way, but more of a, "I don't want to say it…" looks. Faith instantly noticed and asked, only to be silenced as Jade looked back at her. "Um… well…" She said slowly. She then began to walk forward, much faster than Kesh and Faith. "I-I'm going to go back to the inn, ok guys?" She brought her leg back behind her, in preparation to dash off, only to have her arm grabbed.

She twisted her head and glared at Faith, whom wasn't letting go. "You don't have to run off. What is it?"

"I said: I don't want to talk about it!" Jade snapped. Faith's curiosity was only aroused even more at how hard she was trying to protect her secret.

But she sighed, deciding it was useless. "Alright, fine…"

Jade just slowly brought her arm back to her side, rubbing the black sleeves that covered them. Faith's eyes were soon drawn to her movements, just watching the fabric scrunch up and slide back in boredom. She was about to look away, when she thought she saw something darker. Something… black.

"Hey, could you roll your arm-sleeves up?" Faith said. She never knew what to call them.

Jade looked at her oddly. "What?"

"I just, I thought I saw something on your arm…" Faith said slowly. Jade stared at her hard. Was that fear in her eyes?

"There's nothing there! Absolutely no-" She was silenced as Faith yanked her arm up and shoved the arm sleeve down to her wrist. She gasped as her eyes took in the image of black stripes twisting along her arms in a cat-like fashion.

She glanced up at Jade and said, "You're a +anima?" Those words instantly brought Kesh to attention. He leaned over Faith's leaning form and stared down at the stripes.

Jade grew hot under their eyes. "Yeah well…" She snatched her arm away. "It doesn't matter, anyways!" Before Faith or Kesh could say anything else, Jade had already taken off; clutching her prize like it was her lifeline.

Faith sighed and looked over at Kesh, whom looked back. "Should we tell her?"

Kesh smirked. "Why not? After all, we're all the 'same'." He playfully punched Faith in the arm before racing back to the inn, Faith chasing after him in earnest.

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**END OF CHAPTER 9**

**Yes! Now we have officially found out that Jade is a +anima. We shall see how she reacts, when Kesh and Faith reveal themselves in the next chapter!**

**I got lazy on the end btw… -.- sorry.**


	10. Luke

**Meh… life's pretty dull, huh?**

**Nazo: MMM! (I duct-taped her mouth shut :3)**

**Me: *glances over warily* Yeah yeah… I'm already working on BoF! So shut up!**

**- - - - - - - - -- - -- -- -- - -- - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - **

Amber eyes stared out from the shadows of the village. They blinked a few times before focusing on two figures racing through the night. A black, shaggy head cocked itself to the side, watching in curiosity. The two figures, who the creature could tell were teenagers, seemed oddly familiar. It only contemplated this for a moment before they raced around a corner.

The wolf rose to its paws. Its black fur blended in with the shadows perfectly as it prowled closer to the buildings. It stopped and hesitated near the buildings; it had never been this close to a town before. But those two people… they were different…

It finally sighed and padded forward. It watched as the moonlight played across his features and the buildings, before moving faster.

And, for some reason, the three scars on his cheeks seemed to tingle from excitement.

------------------------

"You're never going to catch me! I hope you know that!" Kesh called over his shoulder. He grinned as he saw Faith panting behind him. Her eyes were wide, bracing herself against the wind as she sprinted closer.

Kesh smirked before increasing his speed a bit. Sure, he could've sprouted his wings at that moment and flown away, but it didn't seem fair. And they had already learned never to be left alone at night in an alleyway…

"Hey! Are you giving up so easily?" Kesh soon realized that he had slowed down due to his thoughts, allowing Faith to catch up to him.

She grinned at him before lunging at him. Kesh jerked himself away, narrowly missing her as she reached for him. She cursed as her arms closed around air, causing Kesh to smirk.

"Nope, and perhaps you should work on your reflexes better." Kesh replied. He sped off, grinning as he heard her running after him again.

They ran around the town for what seemed like hours before they finally arrived at the inn's door with sore muscles and ragged breaths. Kesh glanced at Faith warily, who had her hand on the outer wall of the inn and was bent over trying to catch her breath.

Kesh put his hand on the door and slowly pushed it open, trying not to give into his muscles complaints. "Come on…" He mumbled to Faith, before slipping inside.

Faith glanced up at the door. She didn't mind Kesh going in before her. They were both too tired to really care about anything right now.

She inhaled a large amount of air before placing her hand on the door. She only stopped momentarily as she felt a small drop hit the top of her head. Faith looked up, noticing for once that dark clouds had moved in, and it seemed like it was going to storm.

_Rain sounds kinda nice, actually… _She thought mildly. She pushed the door open and walked inside, hearing the sound of thunder just before the door slammed shut.

-------------------------------------

The black wolf lifted his muzzle to the air and inhaled deeply. The scents of the two people were near, and had stopped running a few meters away.

Still staying close to the shadows, he prowled forward. He only blinked when he felt a small water droplet hit his nose. He glanced up, noticing that darkened clouds were strung in the sky, threatening to rain at any moment.

The wolf growled for a moment before moving faster. He had never really liked rain…

- - -- -- - - - ------------------------

"Good night!"

"'Night Mrs. H!" Faith called back. Mrs. Hogart smiled back and went through the door at the back of the inn – which, apparently, led to a bedroom for the innkeeper.

Once Faith was sure that the door was closed, Faith walked down the hallway and stopped at the door that was about four doors from Kesh's room. She'd heard many times that that was Jade's room. In fact, she faintly remembered Jade telling her that it was her room.

"_If you ever want to talk, just come by my room." Jade said._

"_Sure! But, um… which one's your room?" Faith asked, glancing around._

"_It's the fourth room from your friend's room." Jade replied, stretching her arms above her head. "Just don't forget!"_

Faith grinned at the memory before knocking on the door. Nothing came from the room. Faith knocked again, curiosity getting the better of her when she created the most Mrs. Hogart-like voice and said, "Jade, it's me, Mrs. Hogart."

The door instantly opened as a tired-looking Jade came out. She took one glance at Faith before trying to slam the door in her face. It would've closed it Faith hadn't have put her arm in the way.

She winced at the pain before hearing Jade's annoyed tone of voice. "If you're going to just tell me how much of a freak I am; then just forget it!" She tried to crush Faith's arm with the door, but only failed as Faith pushed her shoulder against the door.

"No, why would I do that?" Faith asked, pressing harder against the door.

She heard a smirk as Jade replied with a, "Oh, I don't know… Probably because that's what everyone else does. 'You're a freak!' They'd say, or: 'You're a disgrace to mankind!' I'm sick of it!"

Faith sighed and closed her eyes. She knew the feeling of being called a freak; she'd heard townspeople talking about +anima like they were trash. She hated it as much as Jade. But she'd never been told that face-to-face before.

"Jade, listen to me, I'm not lying when I say this at all, ok? You see… we're a lot more alike than you think…" When there was no reply, Faith continued. "I wanted to tell you for a while now. And I think now is the best time as ever. I'm-"

"Have you told her yet or do you have to wake up the whole town with your godforsaken argument?" Kesh interrupted as he burst out of his room. His hair and clothing were still damp and his eyes looked slightly tired. He glanced over at Faith and noticed that she was in mid-sentence. "Oh… you were just about to…"

Jade snorted on the other side of the door, getting Kesh's attention. "Yeah… whatever! What are you two talking about?"

Kesh crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the door in a bored fashion. "Hey, Jade. If you don't open this door, I'll open it for you." Faith stared at him as she realized his meaning. She smiled slyly and turned back to the door as Jade's laughing reply came.

"Are you kidding? You can't force this thing open! From where I grew up – in Nepal – we take pride in our stre-" She was cut off as Kesh slid out his talons and kicked the door to where three distinct gashes appeared. Faith peered through one of the gashes, grinning at Jade's shocked expression.

"Will you open up now?" Faith asked. She didn't quite like using Kesh's +anima form as a blackmailing tool, but it worked!

A few moments of silence followed Faith's words before the door slowly swung open. Faith and Kesh shared one small glance before walking into the room. The lights were on, darkening the windows drastically due to the night and rain. Jade had managed to back up fast enough to where she was standing in front of her bed. Her dark green eyes looked at Faith and she only managed to whisper a few words, "Kesh is a… +anima…"

Faith nodded before sighing. "Yeah… we were going to tell you sooner or later, but then this happened. Oh yeah, and I'm one too." Faith opened her mouth and let her vulpine teeth form while allowing her red ears to grow out of the top of her head.

Jade just stared at the two as if they were complete strangers. "So… I…"

Kesh sighed heavily. "Yes, yes, you were wrong and you over-reacted but that's ok! We forgive you." He put on a childish smile, his eyes growing wide to where he looked like a doll.

Faith elbowed him in the ribs, stifling a giggle at his face before saying, "What he means is; we understand why you felt this way, and we're sorry for not telling you sooner." Faith stretched afterwards before hearing Kesh groan.

"Hey, I meant every word that I said…" Faith shot him a glare, before replying with a, "You're not helping, idiot."

Kesh glared back equally. "You sure about that, strawberry-head?"

Faith smirked at his "insult". "'Strawberry-head'? Where the crap did you come up with such a stupid name like that?"

"Well excuse me if I suck at insults! At least my +anima form doesn't suck!" Kesh replied back.

Faith glared back even harder. "My. +Anima. Form. Does. Not. SUCK!" Faith snarled back. "It's just different, flyboy, so shut up!" Kesh was about to reply when the sound of laughter finally reached their ears. They turned their heads to see Jade lying on her side on her bed in a laughing fit.

Kesh stared at her for a moment. "What's so funny?" He asked his voice with an edge to it from him and Faith's fight. Jade inhaled sharply, her face beat red as she tried to calm herself.

"You… two… are… so… funny!" She said between gasps of air.

The two friends stared at her for a while before exchanging bored looks amongst each other. "Oh, sure," Faith said in a dull voice, "We're the most hilarious duo comedians out there. Congratulations on unveiling us… how did you ever know?"

Jade sat up, color returning to her features. "Ok, ok, I get it." She cleared her throat and spoke again, all laughter gone. "Alright, so… you're a fox +anima-" she pointed at Faith – "and you're a…"

"Hawk +anima." Kesh finished for her, already bringing his wings out. Jade stared at them for a moment, marveling at the brown spots that marked his feathers.

Faith cleared her throat, slicing through the small moments of silence. "What about you, Jade?" She asked. "What's your +anima?" Kesh slid his wings back into him before looking at Jade.

Jade shrugged and lifted one of her hands, inspecting her fingernails with boredom. "Nothing big, like yours…" Her fingernails darkened and elongated, turning into long curved black claws. Her jaw darkened to where three stripes were slashed on each side, each one twisting into a wavy pattern. She looked up and smiled. "Just a tiger."

Faith stared at her friend. Just _a tiger? _She thought as she eyed the sharp nails warily. "That's…"

"So cool!" Kesh said staring at the claws with interest. Faith stared at him. He looked interested, but his eyes had the same look that they had earlier that day… the same occupied look…

"Um… thanks?" Jade said. Faith returned her attentions back to her friend in time to see the effects of her +anima return. Jade stood and looked out the window before sighing. "I'm sorry…" She said slowly. "I should've trusted you guys. After all, you are my friends."

Faith grinned at her words before saying. "Yeah, it's alright." Kesh nodded in agreement. "Yeah." He said.

Jade smiled before turning around. "Will you guys get out of my room now? I'm kinda tired…"

Kesh smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "Who's going to make m-"

Jade's tiger claws slid out as a fork of lightening pierced the sky, sending a wave of white light through the window. "I will." She hissed.

Kesh didn't need to be told twice. He stared at her for a moment before vanishing out the door, muttering under his breath about "not being paid enough."

Jade grinned in satisfaction and slid her claws back in. She turned to Faith and said, "No offense, but same goes to you."

Faith chuckled and walked out the door. "Don't worry, I know." She closed the door behind her before walking into her bedroom for the night.

- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - -- - -

The sound of sharp rain drops pelting against the window greeted Faith's ears as she awoke the following morning. She sat up and stretched her arms out as she stared out the window.

"Rain again, huh?" She mumbled to herself. She watched as a few more translucent drops hit the glass before standing up and making her way to the door, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good morning, Faith!"

The door burst open with a sharp _bang _as the tan form of Jade flew in. A large smile was stretched across her face as she flew past the said girl and smacked into the wall.

Faith stared at her for a while before asking, "Um… what was the point of that, again?"

Jade peeled her head away from the wall and looked over at Faith. "You were supposed to be in my path! That way I could've given you a big morning hug!" She pulled away from the wall and brushed herself off. She grinned at Faith and charged at her again, hugging her successfully. "Anyways, did you sleep well?"

Faith groaned from how tight Jade's arms were. "Y-Yeah… I slept… well…" she said as best as she could.

Jade released her, sending Faith to the floor. "Great!" She said happily. She turned and began to walk out the door before looking over her shoulder. "Oh yeah, and don't be late for breakfast; otherwise I'll send Kesh again!" With those last words that made Faith's eyebrow cock, she walked out the door, closing it behind her.

"'Otherwise I'll send Kesh again', what?" Faith muttered as she stared at the door. Shrugging the words off, she turned and changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before exiting her room and walking downstairs.

Kesh glanced up as Faith walked down. "'Morning." He said dully. Faith just walked by and grabbed some food.

Kesh watched her for a while before saying, "What? No 'good morning' for me?" He crossed his arms over his chest in a mock pout and playfully glared at Faith as she walked over and sat across from him at the table.

She rolled her eyes. "Well I'm sorry, I didn't know you strived for that much attention." She leaned over the table and patted Kesh's head. "Don't worry, it's alright."

Kesh glared at her even more, all playfulness gone. "You suck, you know that?"

Faith grinned. "Yep; I take pride in it every day!"

The two stared at each other for a while - Faith grinning stupidly, while Kesh glared three different types of murder at her – until the sound of another tray of food sounded in the chair next to them.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Jade asked as she sat down. The three friends looked at each other for a while. A loud clap of thunder sounded outside, causing Kesh to look out the window.

"I think that answers your question." Kesh said, gesturing at the pounding rain outside. "It's raining too heavy to go outside… and judging by the look of it; it doesn't seem as if it will let up anytime soon."

Jade sighed, staring out the window with him. "I guess you're right…" She said sadly. Faith looked at the two before smirking and leaning back in her chair.

Kesh and Jade looked at her. "What?" Jade said, picking up a bit of food before placing it in her mouth.

"I just never pictured you as the type of person that would cower at the sight of a rain storm." Faith said, directing it towards Jade. "It's just rain; what harm could it do? And, besides, I used to always play in it when I was little…" She grinned playfully at her friend.

Jade stared back at Faith before letting one of her tiger-claws to grow out. It still sort of shocked Faith that Jade was a +anima, but she had managed to at least ignore it and just go with it like Kesh was. Jade drove the blackened nail into an orange that she had picked up and peeled it quickly. The pale-orange peeling fell to the floor as she yanked a slice of the orange off and stuck it into her mouth.

Kesh shrugged. "Well, I don't mind it… but, what about the kitty over here?" He asked. He pointed at Jade, who was now glaring at Kesh savagely.

Faith sighed and gripped onto the bridge of her nose as she heard the sharp sound of Jade's hand slapping Kesh's face. She looked up to see Kesh rubbing his, now red, cheek and Jade pulling another slice of orange. "Don't try me, bird-brain, you could get struck by lightening for all I care."

Kesh looked over at Faith, who just shrugged. "Hey, you asked for it." She said. Kesh glared back at her before scooping some of his fried egg into his mouth.

"Hey! You're a cannibal!" Jade exclaimed, pointing at Kesh as he swallowed. He glared back at her.

"Ok, ok, I get it…" Kesh mumbled. He drained his glass of milk quickly before standing. "Are we going or what?"

"Hey! I haven't even eaten yet!" Faith said, scooping her own portion into her mouth. Kesh watched her with interest while Jade just took a bite out of her apple.

Once Faith had finished, the trio headed out the door. As soon as the freezing droplets hit their skin, they couldn't help but shiver at the shock. Faith instantly began to look around, trying to distract herself, while Kesh acted as if everything was normal. Faith glanced at him. "How can you just look around like it's no big deal?" She asked.

Kesh looked back over at her and shrugged. "I've been in more rainstorms, some even worse than this."

Faith stared at him. "What? How…"

"Ok, what now?" Jade asked, obviously not paying attention to the two's conversation. The two looked over at her and shrugged.

"I 'unno." Faith said, shrugging. She looked around before turning back to Jade. "Hey, Jade, you've been here longer than us. What's there to do?"

Jade thought for a while before turning to Faith and saying, "Well, there's a field that's close to the woods. In fact; it's right next to it! Plus, there's this one pine tree that grows right in the middle of it. It's the weirdest thing… but it's still really cool!"

Faith smiled at the thought before a thought occurred to her. "But, what about the wall that surrounds the city?" She glanced over at the walls that surrounded the town.

Jade looked back at her before answering. "That's the one place that the wall doesn't go around. I think it's because that's how people can hunt without having to pay to get back into the city."

Kesh looked at her before saying, "Are we just going to talk, or are we actually going to go there?"

Jade rolled her eyes at him before turning and running down the road. Kesh and Faith glanced at each other before taking off after her. Muddy water splashed up onto them, coating their legs in a brown, filmy layer. By the time that they had arrived at the field, their clothes were completely soaked. Faith stopped about a fifth of the way into the field and looked around her. All around her was grass, albeit wet, it was a pretty decent sized field. Towards the middle of the field, the ground sloped up slightly to a single pine tree, heavy with rain. Farther back was a large expanse of trees. Faith found herself staring for a long time; it felt like home…

"Oi; you going to move or not?" A voice said a few feet in front of her. Faith blinked a few times - focusing back into reality – and stared at the bored face of Kesh.

She narrowed her eyes at him before running towards him, grass gathering on her calves. "What do you take me for? Of course I'm coming!" She said as she shot past.

Kesh watched her for a few moments before running after her. They both froze as they came to the very center of the field. Where was Jade?

"Jade!" Faith called, looking around in the thickened rain. The sound of the rain slapping the already-drenched grass responded to her words. "Jade?"

"What?" Faith turned around to find Jade standing there with mud caked on her long pants.

Faith looked at her for a while before saying, "Nothing… what do you want to do?"

Jade grinned childishly. She lurched forward, stretching her arm out to lightly slap Faith's soaked arm. "Tag! You're it!" She said triumphantly before bolting off.

Faith stared after her for a while before grinning evilly herself and looked to her right – where Kesh was standing. He looked back at her for a moment before putting his hands up and backing up slowly.

"H-Hey, you don't want to go after me…" He said slowly, the tips of his wings peeking out from behind his back. "I don't taste good!"

Faith laughed before bringing her arms out and hooking her fingers into a claw-like position. She leaned forward and snarled, "You are not getting away with your wings!" And with that, she leaped towards him and swung her arms. Kesh snapped his wings out and took to the air, leaving Faith to swing at air and a few brown feathers.

She glared up at him as he hovered above the ground. "Get back down here now!" She shouted. She jumped up at him, swiping her arms at his legs, only to fall back to the ground.

Kesh grinned at her and stuck his tongue out at her furious face. "Too bad! Looks like you're going to have to try harder!" He turned and swooped lower to his left. His wings cut through the downpour as he twisted away from Faith's swiping hands.

"Get your ass back here now!"

"Aw… looks like Faith is actually getting mad!" Kesh made a thumb up sign as he soared away, yet again, from her hands. "Kudos for you!"

Faith growled. "Oh, believe me! You've never _seen _me mad!" Her vulpine teeth, ears, and slightly sharp nails grew as she tried harder, only making Kesh laugh at her faulty attempts.

All the while, Jade stood a few meters away. The rain slithered down her body as she just stared at the two as they flitted around the plain, paying absolutely no attention to her. She crossed her arms over her chest and smirked as she watched Kesh twist and dive away from Faith like a broken airplane, while Faith was growling and snarling all colorful language at him in frustration.

Jade just turned around and faced the woods. The rain created a light–blue haze that drifted over everything that was a good distance away, leaving only the darkened outlines of the objects. She squinted as she tried to identify different outlines. Trees were the main thing in her sights… but… there was something else.

Jade squinted harder. Had she seen that right? As she peered into the thick mist, the shape began to take form. There was something there! It was smaller than the tree, that was for certain, but it was slightly larger than what she thought it could be.

The form began advancing, a bit faster than it had been before. Its shape resembled that of a dog, only larger and fluffier. Jade instantly tilted her head back a bit and called out to Kesh and Faith. But they didn't answer.

"Hey, guys…?"

"Come here you idiot!"

"Not over my dead body!"

Jade looked over her shoulder, glaring at the still fighting images of the two. "Hey, idiots!"

"You know what, Faith? I think you should rename yourself to 'Fail' instea-"

"I'll rename you both to 'Fail_ure_' if you don't shut up and listen to me!" Jade finally snapped. The fighting instantly stopped. Kesh stopped his flying techniques, hovering above the ground as he glared at Jade. Faith just stood with one arm still up in the air from swinging violently at Kesh.

"What?" They both said in unison. Jade rolled her eyes and pointed at the spot that the shape was at.

"There's something there." She said. She turned her head and froze as she realized that the animal had emerged from the mysterious mist and to about three feet away from her.

It was a large black wolf.

- - - - -- - - - - -- -- - - - - - - -

The wolf stared up at the girl in front of it. She seemed to be about fifteen… maybe a bit younger. Who knows? The wolf was never good at guessing ages…

He stared at her shocked expression, watching as she just looked at him with curiosity and fear. The wolf cocked his head and glanced himself over. Was he really that scary? He didn't think he was…

He looked around again before finally setting sights on the two that he'd been looking for: the bipolar girl, and the annoying boy.

The wolf sighed and brushed past the tan-skinned girl, ignoring the words that seemed to have to do with him. He didn't care about her. No, he cared about the two right now.

- - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - -

_It's... It's… _Faith thought as she stared at the wolf as it advanced towards her. A few questions surfaced in her mind, mainly about how it actually found them.

She leaned towards Kesh, who had landed next to her and was staring at the wolf with the same shocked expression. "Kesh?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't that the…"

"Yeah."

"The one that…"

"Yeah."

"Do you think that it…"

"Yeah."

"Oh…" Faith stared at the wolf some more, into its deep amber eyes, before leaning back towards Kesh. "Can you fly us away from here?"

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"Do you remember last time? You were _way _too heavy! I'm not doing that again!"

Faith glared at him. "Well then what am I going to do?"

"Simple: You're going to stay here while I fly off."

"Oh you're _so_ nice!"

"Oh you know I – Oh my God! It's coming towards us!" Kesh instantly retracted his arms close to his chest and lifted one of his legs in a protective manner.

Faith stared at him. She noticed out of the corner of her eyes that the wolf had the same expression. The wolf just leaped the remaining distance and stood in front of Kesh. His amber eyes stared into him before he said in a deep, growling voice, "Um… I'm not going to eat you, if that's what you think."

Silence surrounded the three – four – as they stared at the wolf. _He… Just … Talked? _Faith thought as she stared at it. She heard a stubborn sigh from Kesh as he relaxed, changing to where he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I didn't think that… I just didn't know that wolves could remember well." Kesh said, staring back at the creature as if it was perfectly normal to talk to a wolf.

The wolf rolled his eyes and stared back. "You and that girl should know that I'm not a wolf." The words made Faith stare at him quizzically. What did he mean?

As if to answer her question, the wolf began to transform. His midnight pelt melted into his skin, changing from a dark blackish-blue to a light brown. His eyes darkened considerably and obtained a ring of white around the, now black, irises. His body began to change too – into a more humanoid shape, until it was completely human. And, finally, the hair on his head stayed as a messy black, fluffed out around the edges.

Faith was slightly shocked to find him actually wearing clothes. She thought that he wouldn't have any clothes on at all. She dismissed the thoughts hurriedly and just glanced over his average pants and white – cotton shirt. He looked like an average guy.

"You're a … +anima?" Jade finally spoke up as she walked around the "wolf-boy" to come stand by Faith. The boy watched her with silent, intelligent eyes, seeming to take note of everything she did.

He nodded then, looking over the three friends. Faith looked back at him. "Um… why did you attack me that day? You know, when Kesh and I were traveling."

The boy looked up at the darkened clouds before saying, "You startled me, that's all. My parents died when I was born, so the only company that I get is hunters. But then… I saw you and that boy-" He gestured at Kesh "- and I thought that we were alike." He grinned slightly. "And we are!"

Jade nodded, even though Faith could tell that she didn't understand a word about what they were talking about. Faith continued, "Ok… sorry about your parents, by the way." The boy nodded. "And, well… what's your name?"

The boy stared at her before saying, "Luke." He reached over and scratched his arm while shivering from the icy drops that clung to their skin and hair. They'd been standing in the rain for so long, that they got used to the feel of the weather.

Jade stretched her arms above her head. "Come on; let's go back to the inn. I can ask Mrs. Hogart if Luke can stay in a room, and we can eat something." Her eyes gleamed at the word 'eat' before she looked back at Luke. "Would you like to stay with us?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders, black hair ruffling in the growing wind. "I have no where else to go." He walked forward to where he was next to Jade. He stared at them, as if waiting for something. Jade nodded and followed his lead, walking with him across the field towards the inn.

"Wait!" The two looked back to see Kesh and Faith still standing in the same spots that they were before. Faith stared at them before saying, "We still haven't decided the winner to tag, yet!" Who won?"

Jade sighed and placed a hand on her hip. "Kesh won. There, happy?"

Faith's expression told her instantly. She was not happy.

Kesh instantly started laughing. "Looks like I won!" He stuck his tongue out at her, only to retract it as Faith's sharpened fingernails narrowly missed it.

"Let me show you how to reward you _winner_!" She chased after him as he took off down the field and back towards Bruckford, laughter coming from his smiling mouth.

Jade sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on the grass beneath her. "Well, Luke, you'd better get used to _that_, otherwise, you'll be in hell from how much noise they cause!"

The two ran down the street, leaving Jade and Luke behind, as they took the same route that they took when they were racing to the inn.

"You'll never catch me! Because I'm a _winner_!" Kesh said over his shoulder as they drew closer and closer to the swinging sign of the inn.

Faith growled. "Oh yeah? You cheated!"

Kesh shrugged but kept running. "So? That's the price to pay if you want to win!" He increased his pace as Faith lunged at him.

Faith's reply was drowned out as Kesh focused on the inn's oak door. It was so close… only a few more steps away!

_Almost there…! _He thought as his heart beat accelerated considerably. He reached his arm out for the wall… his fingers stretching as far as they could…

He gasped as he felt two arms lock around his neck, dragging him to the ground before pressing him into the street. A puddle swarmed around his head as he felt Faith's foot press against his back. Kesh glanced up to see her panting body standing over him. She grinned down at him. "Don't… move!" She said between breaths.

Kesh groaned as she removed her foot and walked inside, leaving him in the puddle. He stared at the door before smirking. _Don't move, huh? Well that's too bad!_

He shifted his weight and began to stand, only to fall back to the ground. He clutched his, now bleeding, nose and looked over at his "attacker." A frying pan. He narrowed his eyes at it and glared at the smirking face of Faith, who was standing in the doorway. "I told you not to move." She said before closing the door.

Once she'd closed the door, the cheery voice of Mrs. Hogart came to her. "Faith? Who was that outside?"

"Oh that was just Kesh." Faith said as she walked over and grabbed a hot bowl of soup from the bar's counter. "He said he wanted a frying pan, so I gave him one!"

"That was nice of you!" Mrs. Hogart said as she walked from around the counter and to her room. "I'm turning in early, so tell Jade to keep watch for the rest of the day, will you?" Faith nodded, giving the innkeeper a bright grin. Mrs. Hogart grinned back and walked into her room.

Just as Kesh came bursting through the door.

Faith turned around in her chair to look at Kesh dully. Although, she couldn't help but smirk at his face. It was twisted into a snarling image, complete with a frying pan in his hand and a bloody nose.

"What. The hell. Was. That. For?" Kesh said through his gritted teeth. He closed the door behind him and stalked up to her. He placed the pan on the table before glaring holes into Faith's skull.

Faith just stared at him before saying, "I told you not to move…"

Kesh glared at her. "Oh! Shut u-" He became quiet as Jade and Luke walked in, each one of them dripping wet. Jade instantly went to the counter and grabbed two bowls of soup before sitting down where they were.

She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Well, apparently I'm going to have to do the night-shift…" She mumbled. Faith stared at her for a while.

"How did you know? Mrs. Hogart just told me to…" Faith thought it over before saying, "She's done this before, hasn't she?"

Jade nodded. "Yep." She looked around before sighing. "Anyways, I think we have an empty room open. It's diagonal from mine. So – in plainer sense – its' about two doors down from yours, Faith." She spooned a small amount of food into her mouth before standing. "You guys go ahead and get some sleep, I'm going to just go ahead and start work."

Faith stood. "You sure?" She asked as she ate her own portion of soup while standing.

Jade nodded. "Yeah. I'm used to it. You guys go ahead. Good night!" Without waiting for a reply, she turned around and walked back behind the counter and out of sight.

Faith sighed and just brought the bowl to her mouth and downed the rest of her soup before going upstairs. "I'm going to bed… good night guys!"

"Good night." Kesh called. Luke just nodded before turning to Kesh. Faith didn't hear what he'd said as she went to her room and changed into a dry pair of clothes. She snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes, listening as the rain began to grow fainter and fainter with each passing minute…

**- - - - - - - - -- - -- -- -- - -- - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - **

**15 PAGES LONG!!! XO OMFG!!!**

**Wow… Very long!**

**I was on a slight-hiatus stage for this chapter, so it kinda came later than other chapters. I hope it's ok… I didn't like how I ended it so quickly, but I finished it at 11:09 pm, and I KNOW that I will NEVER finish it again if I don't finish it now!**

**Now Luke's in the story! YAY! :D Luke is like the Senri of the story, only he talks a bit more…**


	11. Scavenger Hunt

**KONICHIWA MY FELLOW PEOPLE OF THE WORLD! XD**

**I have been SOOOO busy right now! I've been working on a costume for Halloween (a Rena Ryuugu costume) and I've been working on my book: "Darla's Diary."**

**So, without further ado, let's get this show on the road again! It's a filler! XP**

**Faith: Hurray!**

**Kesh: *smirks* yeah yeah…**

**Anyways… lately, I've been picturing Kesh with brown hair instead of blonde hair, and I just reread chapter one of RoF, and realized SO MANY mistakes that I made in it! I accidentally put that Faith was 16, when she's really 15, and I put that Kesh had green eyes (when he really has blue), and I also put that Faith had brown hair instead of auburn. : ( Therefore, I shall replace that chapter!**

**Oh yeah… and Kesh is 15, and Faith is 15 too (that's something else I realized!)**

* * *

"You know what I want to do today?"

"Jump off a building and hope you can live?"

"No."

"Go hunting for the Abominable Snowman?"

"N- Actually, that doesn't sound that bad…"

"Jade!" Faith exclaimed as she kicked up another dusty rock in the road. "I was joking!"

The sunlight glanced off of Jade's black hair, tinting it blue, as she turned to Faith, smiling. "I know! You really need to get a sense of humor, Faith." She said playfully. The morning seemed to have only begun a few seconds before the group had awoke and began their walk around town. They didn't necessarily have anything in mind, just the prospect of doing something fun kept them going. The only problem was: they had nothing fun in mind.

Faith sighed and looked up at the glowing sun. "I would if I wasn't so used to your words…" She mumbled.

Jade just looked around, paying no mind to Faith's words. Kesh just stretched and placed his hands behind his head. The thoughtful look in his eye had vanished today… but Faith still feared that it would make another appearance. Even when she was on her way to bed the night before, Kesh had the look in his blue eyes. And what scared her even more was that fear was also present…

"Hey! I have an idea!" Jade suddenly exclaimed as she walked in front of the group, stopping them in their tracks. Kesh opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Oh no… here we go again…" Kesh mumbled as he brought his arms back down to his sides. Faith glanced up at him before being brought back to Jade's grinning face.

"What?" Faith asked, even though she knew it was pointless; Jade would just spout about it faster than any of the speeds that Kesh had flown at.

"How about we have… a scavenger hunt?" She said excitedly.

Luke just looked at her with his black eyes before shrugging. Jade took that as a yes before she looked back at Kesh and Faith.

Faith just thought for a moment before asking, "What would we be looking for?"

Jade's grin faltered for only a millisecond before she shrugged and said, "I don't know… how about some fine china, a bone, and a feather!" Everyone looked at her as if she was from another planet.

"'Fine china'?" Kesh asked as he cocked his eyebrow at her. "Where the crap are we supposed to find any fine china here?"

Jade narrowed her eyes at him. "I was only using it as an example!"

Kesh rolled his eyes. "Then use a better example than that! And I can find a feather anywhere… as for a bone, we can just go into the woods and shoot something before taking a bone out of it." Everyone stared at him at his last statement. He stared back. "… What?"

Jade sighed. "Ok then… how about a non-violent approach… ok, we'll still have a scavenger hunt, but we need to find something that is hard, but is something that we have access to…"

Faith thought for a moment before saying, "We could look for a certain book that is pretty rare…"

Jade smiled. "Great! How about… the _Diary of Anne Frank_?" She asked. Everyone just nodded, confirming the first item. Jade continued. "And then… we have to find a feather!" All eyes instantly snapped to Kesh, who instantly tensed his muscles.

"No! No, no, NO!" He said sharply. "No one is going to pluck any of my feathers!"

Jade sighed. "Fine…" But everyone still plotted to snatch some off of his wings before he flew off. "After the feather, we should find a pinecone, and then a…"

"Blade of grass?" Kesh said dully.

"If you don't shut the hell up, then I'll shove that blade of grass up where the sun doesn't shine!" Kesh didn't say anything after that. Jade cleared her throat and said, "I think that the last item should be a cockroach!"

Faith shuddered slightly at the mention of the word "cockroach." She'd had to kill many of those vile insects on the farm, but they still creeped her out! Just the thought of their hard, brown shelled bodies scurrying around any room sent a shiver down her spine.

Kesh noticed her reaction and said, "Scared of them, Faith?"

Faith instantly slapped his arm playfully. "Not as much as you!" She shot back.

"Alright! You guys ready?" Jade said, clapping her hands together excitedly. Everyone nodded their heads "yes". "Ok then! On your marks… get set-"

"Wait!" Kesh said quickly. Jade stopped and looked at him. "What?" She asked.

Kesh crossed his arms over his chest. "What happens to the losers? Shouldn't they be punished…?"

Jade nodded her head, a devious gleam forming in her eyes. "Yes… I see was you mean… but what?"

Kesh grinned evilly. "Hold on, I'll be right back!" Kesh turned around and sped off, leaving his three friends behind with confused looks on their faces.

Jade turned to Faith. "Do you know what he's doing?"

"Jade, if I knew what he was doing, then I would've stopped him by now." Faith responded.

Luke just looked between the two and asked, "So… where were you born, Jade?"

Jade seemed taken-aback by the question; it wasn't very common question. "Um… Nepal… why?" She said slowly.

"You just seem like you were born there: you have tan skin, black hair…" He said, shrugging as if his question was normal.

Jade brushed off the question and looked over at Faith, who was preoccupied with her own thoughts. "What are you thinking about, Faith?"

Faith turned and said, "I'm just wondering what Kesh is doing…"

They all nodded in agreement and waited for the blonde-haired blue-eyed boy to return.

-------------------

"No…" Faith said as she stared at the pink colored outfit before her.

"I-I second that…" Jade said as her own eyes stared at it.

Kesh smirked and waved the dress around. "What? Scared that you'll lose?" The item that Kesh had brought back was the pinkest, frilliest, and most sparkly dress Faith had ever seen. Cream-colored ruffles adorned the skirt, flowing down to the lacy ends of the clothing item. The top was in a corset-like design with rips in it to reveal silky cream fabric underneath. All in all… it was a nightmare.

"…No! I'm not scared!" Faith said determinedly, turning back towards the road ahead. "Let's just get this over with so that I can laugh at your crying face when you lose!"

Kesh narrowed his eyes at her challenge before walking over to Mr. Barnett's store, handing it to the old man as he stepped out to intercept it.

"Thank you, Kesh. You four have fun, now!" He called in a soft voice. He turned and walked back into his shop, hanging the dress on the back of a nearby chair.

The quad lined up from wall-to-wall before bending their knees, preparing to sprint ahead for the hunt. Faith narrowed her eyes and glanced challengingly at Kesh. Kesh stared back before cracking a smile and focusing ahead as Jade began.

"Ready…"

"Set…"

"…GO!"

They instantly took off, bolting down the brown streets in a race for their first item. As Kesh and Luke took off in a flash off gold and black, Jade and Faith turned and ran into the book shop. Mr. Barnett grinned at them before motioning to the shelves. The girls groaned at the thought of searching through each and every title just for one book. But one look at the dress, and they were back to business.

Faith took the right side of the shelves while Jade took the left. "I'm going to so beat you, Faith!" Jade called as her hands slid over each book's spine.

Faith laughed as she came to a section that she thought could have the book in it. "You only wish, Jade!" She called back. Her green eyes searched harder until her hands finally came to a dull, brown book with golden letters on the side. Faith tilted her head and thought, _The _Diary of Anne Frank… _That's it!_ Her hand shot forward and snatched the book out of the shelf, noticing with a hard lump in her stomach that there were three more copies.

Trying to brush the thought aside, and the sound of Jade's laughter as she rounded another corner, Faith ran out the door, sending a 'thank you' towards Mr. Barnett in the process. The old man just smiled back before looking over in Jade's direction as she exclaimed, "YOU'VE GOTTA BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!"

Faith grinned and ran down the street, clutching the book in her hands. _What now… _She thought as she ran the list of items in her head. _A cockroach, a pine cone, a feather… _She stopped instantly and felt her eye twitch as she realized that she didn't have a feather… _Kesh's_ feather.

Faith's eyes scanned the streets for any signs of the hawk-+anima. Not a single wing beat reached her ears, nor did she see a single pair of brown-speckled wings against the blue sky.

Cursing herself, she raced off down the street, searching for a dark alleyway that could house cockroaches. Her legs carried her down a few stores, before turning left… ending up at the mouth of the same dark alleyway that Kesh had saved her in.

Faith smiled at herself before darting inside, her eyes staring down at the ground in hopes of finding a single roach scuttling across the dirt-strewn ground.

Nothing came into Faith's sights except for more and more filth that made her hold her breath due to the smell. Dumpsters lined the walls, each one filled with more and more trash than the last. Faith stared at one of the dumpsters before walking towards it and looking inside. She needed to find something to keep the insect in before arriving at the field and declaring the loser.

Faith groaned as her thoughts instantly flashed back to the pink thing that Kesh had in his hands before they began the hunt. Oh hell no! She thought as she searched harder for a jar of some sort. You wouldn't catch me in there dead or alive!

Her hand slid over something smooth and cold. Faith breathed in sharply as her hand closed around it and yanked it out. Her smile widened as she held the clear plastic jar in front of her – now she didn't even have to touch it!

She glanced around a few times before walking around to another dumpster. Her eyes stared down at the ground, calling softly like an infant in hopes of attracting the cockroach.

------------------

People screamed as the black-furred wolf casually walked through the streets of Bruckford. Luke just glanced around from each fear-stricken face to the next, amber eyes dull as he searched for the next item in the hunt.

… I already have the roach and the book… He thought as he glanced at a small child, sending her scurrying away crying for her mother. Now I just need the pine cone and the feather. He lifted his snout to the air in hopes of catching Kesh's scent. His scent was faint; mixed around with the scents of the townspeople.

He yelped as he felt something clamp around his ear, tugging him towards another alleyway to his right. He stumbled slightly over his paws before being tossed onto his side, sliding gently into a red-bricked wall.

Luke turned his amber gaze to the tan-skinned girl standing over him with her hands on her hips.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jade asked sternly. Her dark green eyes flashed as Luke glared back up at her before changing back into his human form. He stood and stretched his arms out to the side.

"Looking for the next item." He said simply. Apparently, Jade didn't like that answer – she reached over and shoved him in the shoulder, causing Luke to stumble a bit before straightening up again. "What?"

"You're freaking out every child in this freaking town!" She snapped. Luke just stared at her calmly, basically ignoring everything she said.

"You're not listening, are you?" Jade asked.

Luke just nodded. "Yeah, I heard you." He said. His eyes briefly flashed amber, making Jade's eyes narrow.

She sighed. "Let's just go…" She turned and began to walk out of the alleyway, Luke following close behind.

---------------------

…Is he here? Faith thought as she poked her head out from behind the wall. The clear jar hung from her side, a small brown roach racing around inside. She had two of the items down; she just had two more; the feather, and the pine cone. The pine cone she was planning on getting at the field before everyone got there, it was just the feather that she was thinking about at the moment.

After she'd managed to catch the roach – much to her pure dislike for the brown-shelled bug – she set out on a hunt for the feather. And who better to get the feather from than Kesh himself?

Therefore; she was following him. She had spotted him a few moments before while skirting a large group of adults. He didn't seem as if he was all into the hunt anymore; it looked more like he was just sort of wandering in hopes of coming across something that was worthwhile.

Kesh lifted his head and stared up into the sky, watching a cloud with renewed boredom. Faith just stared at him. What the crap? She thought as he kept walking down the street. He's not doing anything…!

Suddenly, something bumped into Faith's leg, causing her to freeze and snap her gaze down to her leg. I small, brown-haired brown-eyed child stared up at her. His eyes were like liquid chocolate as he said, "Oh, um…. Sorry, miss!"

Faith smiled down at the boy. "It's ok." She said, bending over and gently patting him on the head. The boy smiled up at her, a slight blush darkening his features, before running off.

Faith watched him leave before turning back to her target… only to find him gone! Faith's eyes widened. What? Where is he? She thought, panicked.

"…Are you stalking me?" Faith froze before whirling around to see Kesh with his eyebrow cocked at her. His arms were crossed over his chest, and a playful grin was on his face.

Faith instantly blushed, embarrassed to be caught so quickly. "No." She said. Kesh's eyebrow only rose higher, so she continued. "Why and who would want to stalk you anyway?"

Kesh smirked and stretched his arms over his head. "I don't know… Maybe because you want a feather?"

Faith glared at him. He was right. Damn. She thought as she watched his blue eyes take on an amused hue. "Nope; I already have a feather!"

Kesh raised both of his eyebrows. "Oh, really? Where is it?"

Faith bit down on her bottom lip before glaring at him and saying, "Ok, so maybe I don't have it. But, I can't find on- Hey! Isn't that a cockroach?" Faith pointed at the plastic jar that hung from a string attached to his pants. Sure enough, a brown roach was trapped inside.

Kesh looked down at the jar. "What? Um, yeah…" He said slowly, looking back up at her before saying. "You have one too, though… Wait, you just need the feather don't you?" He laughed slightly before saying, "Well, I'm sure you'll look cute in the dress, don't worry!"

Faith glared at him before turning around and walking off. "I hate dresses…" She mumbled. Suddenly, the sound of beating wings reached her ears. Spinning around faster than she expected, Faith managed to spot Kesh rising higher and higher into the air. She waited until he was gone before bending over and grabbing a single brown feather that had fluttered off of his hawk wings.

As she was sliding it into her pocket, realization came to her. Wait… didn't he just use his +anima in front of everyone? She glanced around furtively. But, no one showed any signs that they noticed what just went on.

Faith shrugged and turned towards the field. "Almost done!" She said before taking off towards the field.

----------------------

"Faster, Luke!" Jade shouted over the cries of the townspeople.

Luke just growled at her before increasing his speed. They had worked out an agreement when it came to him being in his wolf form – he had to have someone with him to claim ownership on him, otherwise Luke would be under constant guard. Therefore; Jade was claiming her ownership by riding on the back of the black wolf like a horse. Many people still felt threatened by the presence of such a creature, but Jade just gripped onto Luke's black hair harder and ordered him to run faster to the field.

"OK… I already have all of my items; how about you?" Jade said to him. Luke glanced up at her before quickly nudging the bag wrapped around his neck.

Jade looked down at it before opening it and peering inside. Her eyes widened at the sight of all four items placed inside perfectly to where no room was wasted, and no room was unused – just perfect.

"Everything?" She said. Luke dipped his head down in what she thought was a nod. "Cool!" She said.

They rounded a corner of one of the buildings, the field appearing in their sights. Jade smiled as she thought of the image of Faith wearing the frilly dress. Oh… she is going to hate me! She thought with another giggle.

Luke grunted before focusing on the lone pine tree that stood erect in the field. Almost… There… He thought, panting.

----------------------

"Oooh! Jade is so going to hate me!" Faith said as the field came into view. She ran faster, clutching onto the Diary of Anne Frank even tighter than before. None of her friends had shown up, and she didn't see them anywhere else.

"So…close…" She panted. She glanced over to the side and nearly burst out laughing at the sight. Jade was to her right, but she was on the back of Luke – who looked very tired.

"How's it going?" Faith called to them. Jade's head instantly snapped over to look at her. Luke just glanced over, but slowed slightly to let Jade talk to Faith.

"…Good, I guess." Jade said. She narrowed her eyes. "I'm still going to beat you!"

Faith laughed at her and replied with, "Bring it on!"

They gave each other one last glare before racing forward once more. Luke instantly began to sprint, leaving Faith behind by a few feet. She cursed herself before running faster, ending up parallel to Luke's flank.

Jade looked over at her before saying, "Faster, Luke! She's gaining on us!"

Luke just looked at her lazily and gave her look that just about said, "Go to hell."

Faith laughed and ran up to Luke's head. She grinned at him before running off, leaving a panting Luke and disappointed Jade behind. Faith managed to see Jade climb off of Luke and glare at him before she turned her sights back to the field.

It was only a few yards away, and it seemed to glow intensely. "Must… go… faster!" She said again before running until she felt as if her legs were going to give out from under her. The field became closer and closer until Faith's foot finally made contact with the light green grass.

Wasting no time, she hurried to the pine tree and gripped onto one of the branches. "Need… pine cone…" She said as she shook it. About two little spiked objects fell from the branches and landed with a soft thud below.

"Pine cone!" She said happily before scooping one up and holding it in her hands. "Finished…" She said before flopping down onto the grass, just as Jade and Luke both came running up side-by-side.

"Well… and I thought I was tired…" Jade said as she stared down at Faith's tired form. She glanced over to find Luke in the same state, only he was glaring at Jade savagely. "You're… NEVER… riding… my back… again!"

Jade sniffed and gently prodded him with her foot. "That's ok…" The three looked up as the sound of wing-beats was heard. Kesh landed with his talons stretched out.

"… So, who lost?" He asked. Everyone stared at him.

"You did!" Jade said happily. "You came the latest!" She jumped up and down before bending over due to running cramps.

Kesh instantly looked worried – much to Faith's amusement. "B-B-But… what about Faith?"

Faith bolted to her feet. "Hah!" She reached into her pocket and withdrew the feather. "I snagged your feath-" She froze mid-sentence. There were two things wrong with this image – One: Kesh was laughing to where his face was red, and two: there was no feather in her hand.

"But… where is it?" Faith said. She crammed her hand back into her pocket and searched it before coming up empty once more. "But… but…"

Jade and Luke grinned. "Well… looks like we're going to need _two _dresses…"

-------------------

"This is all _your_ fault!"

"_Mine?_" Kesh hissed in response. He shifted the pink skirt around him once more before glaring at Faith once more. "You're the one that agreed to this!"

Faith glared at him equally. "That's because I thought I was going to win!" The two had been bickering ever since they were shoved into the nearest store to change into their very own "princess dress" (as Jade says). Jade and Luke glanced back at them, smirking at their outfits.

"So, Kesh?" Kesh turned his glare to Jade as she said between giggles, "You going to the prom?"

Kesh's talons self-consciously formed on his feet. "Don't worry… I won't let you miss it either. How about you go ahead and turn into a little kitty for me, eh?"

Jade glared back at him before continuing forward. Kesh crossed his arms, trying his best to ignore the accusing stares from the townspeople.

The sunset had already begun around Bruckford – throwing its orange and red gaze over everything, leaving blackened shadows behind. Jade's skin looked more like a red than a brown in the light and Faith's looked more like a blazing gold.

As soon as the inn came into view, Luke and Jade grinned at each other before screaming, "Last one to the inn is a rotten egg!" They took off instantly, sending taunts towards the two figures dressed in pink.

Kesh glared at them before gripping onto his skirt. "Faith… I'm going…"

Faith took a deep breath and did the same thing. "Me too… just don't laugh at me…"

Kesh squared his shoulders. "I won't…"

They took off instantly, stumbling clumsily in the pink lace in an attempt to catch up. Once they were at the door, they had Luke hold the door open for them, ignoring the words, "After you, _ladies_." That was sent their way.

"Hey, Mrs. Hogart!" Jade called as they all stood next to the doorway.

Mrs. Hogart came out from behind the counter. "Hello everyo-" She froze as she stared at Kesh and Faith. She shook her head slowly and headed to her room. "My, my… young people these days…" She mumbled before closing the door behind her.

Jade just smiled before turning back to Faith. "Well, I'm having the night-shift again tonight; so you guys just go ahead and get some sleep."

Everyone nodded before filing upstairs, Kesh in the back of the line.

"'Night!" Jade called up to them before slipping behind the counter.

As soon as the teenagers were in the hallway, Luke bid the two goodnight before going to bed with a smirk on his lips.

Faith sighed and placed her hand on her hip. "You know, I think I'll burn this dress tomorrow… whattaya say?"

Kesh grinned. "Yep. I'll totally join you!"

Faith laughed before turning to her room. She glanced over her shoulder. "Good night, Kesh." She said, before walking into her room and closing the door behind her.

Kesh stared at her door for a moment, at the very spot that she'd been standing in before. "Good night… Faith." Kesh whispered before turning to his own room and falling asleep, trying to ignore the caw of a very annoyed raven outside of the inn's door.

* * *

**FINISHED! FINALLY! DLHJFOIDASJFIOADJ**

***gasps for breath* I got grounded off of my compy for a week due to getting a B on one of my tests… but now I'm back on!**

**Halloween's over and no one said anything about my costume (much to my disappointment) but I got LOADS of candy, and I'm still getting high off of it!**

**Anyways, the next chapter is another filler, so it's pretty random. But the end of the chapter should have something referencing to the plot again. After that chapter, then the next is important.**

**Anyways, if you have any questions about the story, ask me them. I'm planning to have a GIANT paragraph of AN (Author's Notes) on the last chapter explaining what happened and etc. Unless it's a question that will be answered later on!**

**Please review! (Eleven pages long of this chappy! :3)**


	12. Outfit change?

**BLARG!!! CHAPTEH 12 TIEM!!!**

**As you all know, this chapter is going to be another filler. But do not worry! I will try to make it funny, with a few hints to the plot in it. Chapter 13 will be an important chapter! So… ya…**

**Enjoy and review please! ;P**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN +ANIMA!!!!**

* * *

Faith awoke to find a pair of dark, emerald eyes staring into her's. She instantly gasped and lashed her hand out, connecting with skin instantly. The person winced and swore before saying, "Can't you ever keep your hands to yourself?"

Faith glared up at Jade as she rubbed her, now-pink, cheek. "Geez, Jade! Can you be any more stalker-ish?"

Jade glared back down at her. "Maybe…" She said slowly, drawing out the 'a' longer than necessary. "I just need some motivation."

Faith sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes in the process. "How so?" She yawned, stretching her arms above her head. Her eyes took in the state of her room – which, if she didn't say so herself – looked exceedingly clean. Well… except for the pink dress that was resting on the floor in a fluffy pile of pink.

Jade made a 'hmmm…' sound and placed her thumb and forefinger against her chin in a 'thinker' pose. She snapped her fingers and looked back at Faith. "Food and money!"

Faith smirked and threw a pillow at her. "You wish!" She laughed before sliding out of bed. She ignored the prickling feeling that spread up her legs from the contact of her bare feet against the cold wood floor. She stood and looked back at Jade, watching her as she leaned against the wall.

A thought then surfaced in Faith's mind just as she was walking over to the chest at the end of her bed – her clothes were folded on top of it in a neat, little stack. "Hey, Jade?" Jade glanced over at Faith as she continued, "What did you mean, two days ago, when you said that you'd send Kesh in?"

Jade stared at Faith for a moment before shrugging and saying, "I 'unno… guess I just wanted to freak you out or something."

Faith glanced back at Jade. She grabbed her shirt and then just mumbled, "Whatever…" Already knowing that it was useless.

Jade moved away from the wall and headed to the door. She glanced over her shoulder, black hair swaying, as she said, "Oh yeah, and if you hear screaming… don't be alarmed…"

Faith stared at Jade hard. "Wha-" But Jade had already slipped out the door with a giggle. Faith stared at the brown wood before changing quickly and practically sprinting to the door, hopping over the dress in her haste.

"Jade!" She called as she slammed the door behind her. Faith managed to catch a glimpse of Jade's amused face and black hair as she descended the stairs. Faith opened her mouth to call again when, sure enough, she heard a scream.

Kesh's bedroom door burst open as he stalked out, hands on his brown – wait, _brown_ _hair_!?

Faith stared at him as he ran down the stairs, face contorted in an unreadable expression. "Jade!" He called angrily as he practically jumped down the stairs. Faith watched as, he too, vanished down the stairs in the same manner that Jade had.

_What the hell!? _Faith inwardly shouted as she followed her friend down to the lobby. There, she could clearly hear him shouting at Jade with as much anger he could muster in his voice.

"You FREAKING dyed my hair BROWN!" Kesh snarled as he glared at Jade. His hands still clutched his hair as if it would be the death of him if he let go.

Jade just grinned at him and leaned back in her chair. "Awww… but it suits you…" Luke, who was sitting opposite of Jade, was looking as if he would just die of laughter at the moment.

Kesh turned his glair to the wolf +anima. "What are you laughing about, Loopy?!" He snarled. Luke stopped laughing, but kept a broad grin on his face.

Faith smiled and leaned against the wall, watching as the hilarious scene unfolded in front of her. They really did dye his hair brown, but it was a light brown. In her opinion, it didn't look all that bad… a little odd, yes (since she wasn't used to it) but not bad.

"And who gave you the freaking right to dye it in my sleep!?" Kesh continued, placing his hands on his hips. "What else did you do to my body?"

Jade laughed before saying, "Oh… nothing… just gave you a tattoo on your back that says 'I love cookies.'"

Kesh's face paled slightly as he twisted around, trying to see his back. It was then that both Kesh and Faith realized the one flaw that Kesh overlooked before hunting Jade down to cuss her out – he wasn't wearing anything except for his boxers.

Kesh froze as he stared down at himself. His face looked normal at first… until he looked up and saw Faith leaning against the back wall. A blush instantly spread across his face, causing a small one to form on Faith's. But she just cocked an eyebrow at him and said, "What?"

Kesh just stood there for a moment, still twisted around, before twisting back around to glare at Jade and Luke as they broke out into another laughing hysteria. "What?" He snapped. He most likely did not notice how his face was a burning red.

Faith just sighed and folded her arms behind her head. "Hey, Kesh?" She said. Kesh turned his head to look over his shoulder at her, the blush still on his face. "Um… are you going to put some clothes on? I think some people are staring at you."

Kesh's eyes widened. He turned to look out of one of the windows and let his mouth drop open at the sight of a small crowd staring at him. His blush only worsened as one little kid pointed at him and turned to a lady next to him, chattering excitedly. The woman just grabbed the little boy's hand and led him away, shooting dirty looks at Kesh as he gawked back at her.

He backed up slowly, glancing over his shoulder every now and then to make sure that he was headed for the stairs and not for a table. "I think I'm going to go get dress now…" He said slowly. He grabbed onto the railing before twisting around and walking up the stairs, his head hanging down.

Jade laughed as soon as he was gone. "Did you see his face?" She said excitedly as she turned to Luke. Luke just grinned at her and looked over at Faith, his eyes already prying at her.

Faith just sighed and walked over to them. "You know, that was kinda harsh… but very funny. How did you manage to dye his hair without him waking up?"

Jade inhaled deeply and looked back at Faith. "Well, Luke and I just snuck into his room, lifted him off of the bed, and just had at it…" She grinned at Faith's confused expression. "He didn't wake up, I _swear_!"

"…Did you drug him?" Faith asked. Jade shook her head and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, but a humorous light still glimmered in her eyes.

The squeaking of the stairs made their heads turn to find Kesh walking down to them – fully dressed. "So, what are we going to do today?"

Jade sighed and stretched her arms above her head. "I don't know… I think I have to work today, so you guys can do whatever… and…" Her voice trailed off as she stared at Kesh, her eyes narrowing in disgust as she looked over his outfit.

Kesh noticed this and instantly looked down at himself – he was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt and jeans… no big deal. "What?" he asked as he brought his attention back to Jade as she crossed her arms over her abdomen.

"'What'? Just look at yourself!" Everyone followed Jade's eyes to Kesh's outfit and saw what she meant. Stains infested the white fabric every inch of the way – creating a mesh of tan and white, with a few splashes of gray. His pants were also covered in numerous grass stains and mud globs that were dried into the fabric.

Kesh glanced down at himself. "I don't see anything wrong…" He stopped talking as he saw everyone's expressions. This meant trouble…

Jade shook her head. "No, you're not going ANYWHERE until you have some new clothes! Those are terrible!" She pointed at his shirt for emphasis before suddenly turning to Luke and saying, "Hey; take him out shopping, will ya'? He needs it?"

Luke just nodded, much to Kesh's dislike. Kesh shifted from foot to foot before saying, "Wait! I don't need to go shopping, these clothes fit perfectly fine, and you can always wash them…"

"No you can't!" Jade interrupted. "Those are beyond repair!" Her emerald eyes flashed as she looked him over once more. She forced herself to look away. "It's so ugly, I can hardly take it! Luke, take him away now!"

Kesh opened his mouth to object once more, only to have the back of his shirt grabbed by Luke's calloused hand. He dragged him away, grinning at Kesh's curses that were aimed at the wolf +anima.

As soon as Luke was out the door, Jade placed her hands on her hips and smiled. "I hope Luke does his job…" She said. Faith stared at her friend as she walked around the counter to the inn and stood there, staring at the tables in the lobby. She sighed after a few moments and rested her head on her hands. "There's nothing to do here… everyone's either out doing something, or has already checked out of this inn."

Faith glanced at her friend. "Then why not just leave and go shopping or something?"

Jade looked back at Faith, a look in her eye that practically told Faith the exact words that she was about to say. "I can't; Mrs. Hogart would kill me otherwise."

Faith sighed and walked behind the counter with Jade, leaning against the wood surface as well. "Well… since we don't have anything to do now…" Faith said slowly. "Do you think that we can just hang out in the meantime?"

Jade just glanced from Faith to the door before sighing. "Fine, but I will kill you if I find out that I had something to do!"

Faith just grinned and dragged up a chair from the back, sitting in it promptly. Jade followed suit, her chair scraping the floor even more than Faith's had. After she had sat down, the two sort of stared at each other, trying to think of something to talk about.

Finally, an idea came to Faith. "So… what do you think of Luke?"

Jade blinked before shrugging. "I don't know. He just seems like an average guy to me. Why do you ask?"

Faith shrugged. "I 'unno," she said, "I just find it weird that he's been tailing me and Kesh for the past – how long has it been… six days? – and he just now decides to confront us?" Faith paused for a moment to let the words sink in. This had been bothering her recently. Why hadn't Luke confronted them earlier? If he had figured out that her and Kesh were +anima too… then why not show that he was one also?

Jade processed the words before biting her lower lip slightly. "That is a good point…" She said slowly. "But, he doesn't act odd in any way. He just acts like an average guy when I see him."

Faith sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Alright…" She let her voice trail off before thinking over the words once more. _What was Luke thinking when he found us?_ Faith thought as Jade launched into a rant about "how boring things could get."

* * *

"Do you need any help today?"

"No, we're doing just fine, thanks."

"No problem." The store clerk just smiled another white-toothed smile and walked off, her blonde hair bobbing behind her.

Kesh sighed as he stared at it. _Blonde hair… _he thought with a sigh. _I miss mine…_He narrowed his eyes and trudged after Luke, fuming over Jade's "brilliant" idea.

He stopped as Luke's hand tapped his arm. Kesh turned and looked at Luke as he held up a blue shirt. "How about this?" He asked.

Kesh sighed. "Um… sure." As Luke turned away, Kesh sighed and asked, "Why are you doing this anyway, Luke? You usually never do this kind of stuff…" He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Or is it… for Jade?"

Luke seemed to twitch at that assumption and glanced at Kesh. "Nothing's going on between us. We've known each other for only six days, maybe even a bit less. Me – I'm just trying to get you to finally get some new clothes. Jade had a point; those clothes of yours reek."

Kesh looked down at his clothes. _They're not too bad… Are they? _He thought. He forced the thought away and followed Luke around the store, his mind ranting about the loss of his hair.

------------

"Wonder what's taking them so long…" Faith mumbled as she stared out the window. About an hour had past, and there had been no sign of the wolf and hawk +anima. Faith sighed and glanced back at Jade, who was currently wiping down the counter for the fourth time.

"So…" Faith began, watching as Jade raised her head in hopes of a new conversation. "What was the town like before Kesh and I arrived?" It was a pretty dull question to Faith, but there was truly nothing to talk about…. Especially after Jade's continuous rants about the inn and 'boredom'.

Jade shrugged, removing the rag from the wood-counter. "Not that much different from how it is now: A giant wall around the city, cobblestone streets, old buildings, the field… nothing new." Jade thought for a moment before saying, "Although… Mr. Barnet came a few days after I arrived here. But that's not important at all."

Faith sighed. "Well, there's nothing else to talk about… so why not talk about something else…"

Jade groaned and placed her head on the counter. "It's so boring here! There's absolutely nothing to do!" Suddenly her head snapped up as she stared at Faith with an odd look in her eyes.

Faith fidgeted under her gaze. "What? Do I have something on me? What is it?"

Jade just grinned and put on an innocent expression. "Oh… nothing… I was just wondering why Kesh always seems to give you cow-eyes when you're not looking."

Faith froze at those words. "Excuse me? _Cow-eyes?_"

Jade grinned deviously. "Yes… cow eyes…" At Faith's blank expression, she elaborated. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you never noticed!"

Faith just blinked and opened her mouth to say something when the door to the inn opened. Both girls' heads turned, expecting to find Luke or Kesh standing there, and saw Mrs. Hogart standing with a bag of what looked like mixed vegetables in her hand.

"Hello, girls." She greeted warmly. She walked across the lobby and to the kitchen before asking, "Where are Kesh and Luke?"

"Shopping." Jade said, glancing over at Mrs. Hogart before shooting a look at Faith that reminded her of their current subject.

"That's good." Mrs. Hogart said, returning from the kitchen a few moments later. "I'm going to go ahead and start dinner. Does soup sound good to you?" When they both nodded, Mrs. Hogart smiled. "Great! I'll get working now!"

After her plump shape had disappeared into the kitchen once more, Jade walked around the counter and sat down next to Faith. Faith opened her mouth to continue their conversation from earlier, but closed it when Jade looked out the window and said, "It's getting pretty dark… what do you think is taking them so long?"

Faith sighed. "I don't know. Maybe they're taking a detour or something."

Jade just nodded and looked away from the door. "Oh well. Maybe they're gone for the day! Then, we can have a sleepover-ish-thing! We can have popcorn, and tell scary stories, and-"

"We're back!" Jade froze before turning to look at the doorway. Luke stood there, a small smile on his face as he looked into the lobby.

Jade made a small growling sound. "Forget I said anything…" she mumbled before crossing her legs and looking at Luke. "Ok, where's the bird?"

Luke cocked an eyebrow before stepping to the side to allow Kesh to walk through.

Jade clapped her hands when he stepped through, while Faith just stared. Instead of his normal white shirt and tattered jeans, he wore a blue t-shirt and clean, well-fitted denim jeans. A brown jacket covered most of his torso, ending an inch down his thigh.

Kesh just stood there as Luke gestured toward him and asked, "Well? What do you think?"

"He looks better than before, that is for sure." Jade said, leaning back in her chair before looking at Luke. "Thanks for taking him, by the way."

Luke shrugged, kicking the door closed behind him. Kesh grumbled next to him, crossing his arms over his chest in a huffy way. "Not like I wanted to go…" he hissed.

"I'm sorry; what was that?"

"Nothing, nothing…"

"Good." Jade smiled evilly and looked over at the candle that sat in the middle of the table. Mrs. Hogart came bustling out of the kitchen then.

"The soup will be ready soon!" She looked at everyone before going back inside, not even mentioning Kesh and Luke as they sat down next to Jade and Faith.

"So, we're having soup tonight?" Kesh asked, showing real interest in his eyes.

"Yes." Faith replied, stretching in her seat. "I think it's going to be vegetable soup…" Kesh didn't seem to pay attention, he just looked flat-out hungry!

Jade stood and walked over to the counter, fishing a match from behind the counter and returning back to the table. She struck the match against the chair leg, a spark of golden flame engulfing the red tip, before lighting the candle. The wick slowly began to darken to a burnt black as the shadows in the room became more extreme.

"Well, since we've been doing nothing lately, why not tell stories or something?" Jade suggested, her face illuminated by the candle in a haunting way.

_Is that how my face looks right now? _Faith thought slowly before processing Jade's words. "Sounds like fun to me. How about you guys?"

Luke just nodded, retiring to his quiet demeanor again. Kesh shrugged. "Why not? Sounds like fun to me."

Jade nodded, looking excited at the prospect of actually doing something. "Alright…" She leaned forward into the flame. "Who first?"

* * *

**Alright, done! Hope you enjoyed that filler… I didn't : '(**

**I procrastinated TERRIBLY on this chapter! It's been over a month since I started it! DD:**

**Oh well, at least I finished! Christmas Eve is tomorrow, therefore I hope you all have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! XD or a merry Kwanza, Hanukah or whatever u celebrate! :3**

**(Jade was lying, btw, about the cow eyes :P)**

**The next chapter, I will try to type up tonight. I've wanted to write chapter 13 for some time now. Chapter 13 is NOT FILLER!!!! SO, you can be happy for that!**

**Bye!**


	13. Painful pasts

**Okies! This chapter is IMPORTANT!!! But… 14 will be filla! :D (I know, it sucks, right?) But, from chap. 15 and on all of the chappies are important! :D m'kay? Ok, and another thing to let u guys know about is that when I'm finished with this story, I'm going to finish up After the Battle (my Kingdom Hearts fanfic). After that, I will convert my Bleach fic here and finish that too!**

**Enjoy! :D**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN +ANIMA!!!!**

* * *

Silence seemed to consume the room almost as fast as the sun went down… or, at least how fast it felt, that is.

By now, a steaming bowl of creamy vegetable soup was placed in front of each person, the wisps of silver smoke coiling up to heat the faces of the +animas. They all sat there, thinking over Jade's question. Who was first to tell their story?

An eternity seemed to pass as Faith sat in her seat, her finger tracing some of the marks on the table. _My story… _Faith thought dully as her finger made a complete circle of a dried-in stain on the table. _Nothing big happened in my life, except for what happened to Helga and Greg... _

Her small thoughts were interrupted as Luke finally sighed, breaking the silence instantly. "Alright, I'll go first." He said calmly. He crossed his arms and leaned on the table, his face calm looking in the candlelight. "First off, don't laugh at anything that goes on in my life, because it doesn't help… at all."

Jade just grunted and said, "Why would we laugh?" She crossed her legs under the table and stirred her soup a bit, glancing at the coils of steam that rose from it.

Luke just sighed and glanced at her. "Yeah, sure…" He mumbled. Finally, Luke straightened out in his chair and began to talk. "My parents apparently came from different parts of Asteria; my father from the West, and my mother from the East. My father explained to me that they met each other one year when harvest came around, and everyone was exchanging crops. From what my mother told me, they both fell in love at first sight." He sighed and closed his eyes before opening them again. "But, of course, their parents wouldn't let them see each other for some odd reason. Whenever they'd ask why, their parents would just blink and say, 'it's too grown-up for you to handle.'" Silence had befallen the group again, so Luke continued. "Eventually, my mother finally snapped, screaming curses at her parents and promising to never return… so, she ran away and kept her promise." Luke tilted his head back and chuckled slightly. "This is sounding so much like a soap-opera, I can't believe I didn't realize it until now… Anyways, she stopped by my father's place and threw rocks at his window until he finally answered her. They chatted for a few moments before my mother finally told him her plan; to run away and never return to their homes again. At first, my father hesitated, but he finally agreed and packed and left with her. They obviously ended up in the forest, building a cottage right out of the trees around them. They led an easy life there; no one to tell them what's-what, no one bugging them, and no worry about any shortage of food, due to the abundance of rabbits in the area." Luke lowered his head then, his black hair dangled in front of his face, shadowing his eyes from view. "Of course, my mother became pregnant soon after. My father was in mayhem, having to take care of my mother as she complained about the temperature and everything else that pissed off a 7-month pregnant woman. And then, finally – after 8 months of complaining, my mother gave birth to me…" The silence was almost too much for Faith to handle; it was like someone pounding a dulled mallet against her head. "And… she also gave her last breath. She died about two minutes after I was born. Apparently I put so much strain on her body that she died due to it."

Jade's eyes were glistening when Faith stole a glance at her. Was she going to cry? No, probably not.

"So… then what happened? If your mother died, then how do you know about all of this?" Faith finally asked.

Luke looked up at her. "My mother kept a diary. You wouldn't believe what it was filled with; complaints towards Dad, wishes and doubts – plenty of stuff that could easily fill up a good chick-flick." He sighed and continued his story. "So, dad raised me all by himself. It was tough, you know? Especially since I needed milk. From what he told me, he managed to get a hold of a willing farmer with his own wife to help him out when needed. And, when I was about five years old, my +anima appeared." No one said anything; they already knew what was coming next. "He hated me for it: said I was a cursed being that threatened God's true meaning of life. He just packed and left, taking my mother's diary with him. The last thing he ever said to me was, 'I hope you burn in Hell with your damned mother…" His voice trailed off into silence and he sighed, obviously trying to push away the thoughts.

The three remaining teens stared at him. "But… I thought you said that both of your parents died when you were born…" Kesh said slowly.

Luke smirked, turning his gaze to Kesh. "Well, it's not very good to introduce yourself by saying, 'Hey! My name is Luke and my mother died while I was born, while my father hates me and wishes I was dead and roasting in hell at the moment.'"

Kesh nodded. "Point taken…" He said softly, looking down at the table.

"Anyways," Luke said, spooning some soup into his mouth, "That was the past, now I'm with you guys. So, let's get on with it, ok? Who's next?"

Jade was still staring at Luke before shifting in her seat and stirring her soup. "My story's boring compared to yours…"

"How can you be so sure?" Faith asked, tasting some of her soup (which was delicious). "It could be of equal emotional value… stuff."

Jade cocked an eyebrow at her and sighed. "Alright, fine. But the same rule goes to me; no laughing!"

Faith smirked. "I think we've already figured out that there's no point in laughing. Now start talking!"

Jade sighed before sitting up straight. "Well… I'm sure that most of you figured out that I wasn't born in Asteria necessarily. I was born in Nepal, actually."

"Nepal?" Faith asked. "What's that?"

"Some other country…" Jade said. "Anyways, I was born into an average family… My father was a Nepali while my mother was Astarian. Both of my parents worked hard to support us and I was usually forced to stay indoors since I was so young back then. But, I got out of the house one day. I made sure that no one was looking and I ran; I ran thinking that the world was a beautiful place to be." She lowered her head like Luke had and squeezed her eyes shut. "But… I found out that the world also has an ugly side to it. I made it to town, and nearly got trampled by plenty of people… some even shouted insults at me for no apparent reason… calling me a whore… a slut…" By now, Jade was trembling, and Faith had to reach over and grab her shoulder to hold her steady. Jade took a deep breath and continued, "Anyways… these girls saved me. They told me that they were gypsies and that they could help me… I… I was about five years old then… They took me to their caravans and gave me new clothes. I had forgotten all about my parents, and ended up traveling with the gypsies all across Nepal." She giggled slightly. "You wouldn't believe what I've seen! So many faces… and so many people that glared at us, despising our 'slutty decisions.' We weren't bad, and it wasn't a bad life. I had food, shelter, and a family…" Jade paused before continuing. "All thoughts of my family had vanished by then, and I had started believing that the gypsies _were _my parents. They would tell me legends, whisper and point out different things in the crowds… so many things."

Faith smiled. "Sounds like fun…" She said as she tried to picture herself in the ranks of the travelers, but the image of her being with them just didn't fit… It just seemed to make more sense that Jade was with them.

"Yeah." Luke said. Faith looked over at the boy to find his own black eyes sparkling with wonder.

Jade smiled at this. "Well… thanks… I guess… and it was fun. I actually met a lot of people along the way, even a few cute boys."

Faith laughed slightly at this, trying to imagine Jade with some random boy that she would never see. "What did you do? Kiss them and promise them that you would come back for them?"

Jade was quiet before finally saying, "Yes, actually…" The room grew silent again. "I actually got my first kiss from one of them… and he was in love with me, so I had to tell him something…" She looked up at Faith. "So, I told him I'd return… I doubt he believes that anymore. It's been what? Eight years?"

"Oh…" Faith said softly. _Wow…I can't imagine how that boy feels right now… _She thought. She lifted her head as Jade cleared her throat.

"Anyways," She began, "They never told me that they were involved in the smuggling business. Apparantly, Ara – one of the main performers – was caught smuggling one night. The rest of us fled as soon as the officials showed up, catching a ship in time as it pulled out of the harbor. We traveled for a while, and the next thing I knew, we had pulled up on the shore of Asteria." Jade smiled and looked off into the distance, her eyes unfocusing as she was lost in her memories. "I remember us all breathing a sigh of relief as we felt safe from everything back at Nepal. Jarna – probably my first and only best friend – took my hand and led me away from performers. She brought me to the forest and stopped walking. She smiled at me again and gave me a cloak. 'Jade, it's time for you to go…' she had said, 'It's too dangerous to hang out with us. We're constantly called thieves, not to mention that we're now wanted for Ara.'" Jade paused and her smile slowly faded as she came to the close of her tale, "She pushed a brown bag into my hand, telling me that it was money that could pay for food and anything else that I would need. The last thing I remember was her gently pushing me away, telling me to leave and never come back… I listened to her and ran, ran like the world hated me. After a few days of traveling, I arrived at Bruckford. I got in and nearly collapsed on the streets from hunger. Mrs. Hogart found me by then; she carried me back to the inn and nursed me back to health. She offered me a job too… So, here I am."

Faith looked at Jade as she grew silent. _That's it… her story… _she thought slowly. Jade just grinned and leaned back in her chair as if a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Wow…" she finally said after a while.

Jade just sighed and closed her eyes. "That's the past…" She opened her eyes and focused her emerald irises on Faith, "So, what's your story?"

Faith sighed and began telling her story, starting with how she was found by Helga and Greg, before continuing with her lifestyle. She couldn't help but look at Kesh when her story came to the scene when she met him, and was surprised to find him staring at her. She finally finished her story with her and Kesh's arrival at Bruckford.

She sighed afterwards. "And… that's it."

Jade and Luke stared at her before giggling and looking at Kesh. Kesh looked back. "What?" He asked.

"Oh… nothing… but, you dropped Faith from a tree?"

Kesh shifted in his seat. "Yeah… and?"

"And that's so mean!" Jade objected.

"I still have a bruise." Faith said, adding to the humorous scene in front of her. Jade glanced at her and smiled wider.

Kesh shot a glare at Faith. "Whose side are you on?"

"The winning one." Faith shrugged.

Jade just smirked. "Whatever, I'll bug you about that later! Anyways, what's your story?"

Kesh just sighed and leaned forward. "Ok, I lived with my family, then went on a walk and met Faith… the end."

Everyone stared at Kesh dubiously. "…What the hell was that?" Jade finally said after an uncomfortable moment of silence. "We told everything about our earlier lives, and all that you can tell us is what happened when you met Faith? Seriously, we need more details."

Kesh glared at Jade. "No, you don't." He growled.

"Yes, we do."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"I said yes."

Kesh just glared daggers at Jade; not the playful glare that he usually shot at her. He stood abruptly, the chair grinding against the wooden flooring shrilly. "I'm going to bed." He stated sharply before turning and marching up the stairs before anyone could object.

Jade glared at his back as he vanished to the second floor. She let out a breath and sank back into her chair. "Stupid; what's his problem anyways?"

Faith just stared at the stairs. What was his problem? What could've made him act so weird? She slowly stood and stared at the stairs for a few seconds before saying, "I'm… going to go see what's wrong."

Jade just snorted as Faith walked up the stairs, the boards creaking from her weight. She walked down the hallway and turned right to Kesh's bedroom door. She raised her hand to knock before stopping as she noticed how the door was cracked open slightly. Slowly, she pushed the door open and peered inside. Kesh was at his window, his hands gripping onto the sill as he stared out into the night sky, light brown hair ruffled by the breeze that blew through the opening.

Faith slowly stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind her. She stepped closer to Kesh, her shadow thrown across the wall in a long humanoid shape. She only stopped a few feet away from him when he started talking. "…I didn't want to…"

Faith stared at him. Didn't want to… what? "Didn't want to what, Kesh?" She asked quietly, her voice sounding like an echo in the room.

Kesh gripped the window harder. "You guys wouldn't understand." Faith opened her mouth to say something, but shut it as Kesh rounded on her, despair and fury flashing in his cerulean eyes. "You wouldn't understand at all."

Faith just blinked, still not sure what he meant. "Kesh…" she said softly.

Kesh just sighed and said softly, "You all have had someone to love, but you've never had love in short supply, have you?" He stared at Faith coldly. "Have you?"

Faith could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Why was he being so cold? "No… but… That doesn't matter! I don't get what you're trying to say!"

Kesh growled and whipped around to face Faith fully. "You still don't get it? I never talk about my parents because they were never there! And when they were, they were shooting glares at me, making threats to kill me, or actually calling me…" He hung his head and shivered slightly before looking back at Faith, his bangs falling in front of his eyes to give him a messy look. "Then, when I was six years old, they finally snapped when I accidentally broke one of their 'prized' vases in the house. My mother and father snapped, grabbing broken shards and knifes before pursuing me, actually making a few scars on my arms. I was sobbing by then… and then I felt an amazing feeling as wings grew out of my back, and talons out of my feet…"

Faith stared at Kesh, shocked about his past. _His parents…_"Kesh-"

Kesh finally snapped. "I killed them!" Silence filled the room again before Kesh growled again and squeezed his eyes shut, as if he could escaped the world just by closing his eyes tightly and hiding. "I swung my legs up… and I heard them scream that I should burn in Hell before opening my eyes and seeing their slit throats at my feet… and their blood coating my black talons…"

Faith could feel small tears forming at her eyes. Killed? That was pretty big… especially at the age of six.

"And… I remember their screams still…" Kesh pressed his hands to his eyes before stumbling to the window.

"Kesh, stop!" Faith said sharply as he climbed onto the sill. Kesh just glanced at her.

"I killed them! And it's my entire fault!" Kesh said before jumping out of the window, snapping his wings out and soaring off into the distance.

Faith leaned out of the window and watched his shape as it became smaller and smaller in the distance. "Oh, Kesh…" She said softly.

* * *

**Lol, for the last part, I was listening to "Getting Away With Murder" and "Last Resort" by Papa Roach XD Lol Ironic much?**

**Anyways, chap. 14 is going to be filla :( Yes, it sucks… but it will be better filler than the others. But… the rest are IMPORTANT THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE STORY!!! :D**

**Anyways, how was it? A bit overdramatic on Kesh's part? Don't worry; things will become clearer later on :)**

**Yay! Bye!**


	14. Rainy Days

**Filler… and it's the last!!! :D**

**Actually, I think I may have to add a few more… but just ONE MORE!!!...Or two…**

**Anyways, Enjoy and review please! :D**

* * *

Faith stared out into the night for what seemed like hours before his words finally seemed to click in her head. _He… killed his parents…? _She thought slowly.

Her best friend had just flown off, leaving her with just those words. He left with despair and sorrow in his eyes, and Faith didn't even have time to stop him. So… what was she going to do?

Stand there.

"_I killed them!!" _Faith ground her teeth at those words. It made so much sense! Why hadn't she realized it before? She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped the windowsill tighter, her knuckles paling to a pasty white. _…Why? Why wouldn't he tell me? Didn't he trust me…?_

The night air gently blew towards her, caressing her face. Faith cracked her eyes open and let the breeze dry her eyes out, before closing them once more. _If he would've told me… then maybe I could've… maybe I could've…_

"Alright, Kesh! What are doing with Faith?" The door to the room smacked against the wall, the sharp sound echoing across the room.

Faith's eyes snapped open at the sound, lifting her head and turning around. Jade stood there, a darkened silhouette outlined in golden light. Her black hair was swaying slightly from the force she'd exerted on the door. She looked up at Faith and froze as their eyes met. She slowly straightened up and cleared her throat. "…Faith…?" She said quietly, raising her hand slightly.

Faith blinked. "Y-Yeah?" she croaked. Her hair lifted from her shoulders as the night air blew against her back, seeming to push her slightly.

Jade tilted her head to the side. "Why are you… crying?"

"Wha…" Faith blinked again; apparently a single tear had managed to squeeze out of her eye, and was already sliding down her face, stopping at her jaw-line. She raised her arm and rubbed at the sticky mark it left behind. She inhaled sharply, surprised to find her nose stuffed. "I… don't know…"

Jade just blinked and stepped into the room cautiously. "Yeah… ok, but where's birds-for-brains?" She glanced at the bed. "Hiding under the bed?"

Faith ignored the comment and just stared through Jade, as if she were merely a ghost that wouldn't go away. Jade looked back at Faith, her smile vanishing instantly. "Faith… what's wrong?"

"He… He…" Faith broke off, still unable to finish her sentence. What was so hard about saying 'he flew off, leaving us behind.'?

Jade took another step forward. "'He… He…'What?" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "I feel as if you're hiding something from me, Faith. If he did something to you, then you can tell me-"

"Why do you always assume he's done something awful to me?" Faith snapped, unsure of where her anger had come from. Jade took a half-step back as Faith continued, "He's not a bad person! And, besides, he killed his parents!"

Silence answered her words, filling the room quickly. Jade's eyes had widened, while Faith's had produced more tears.

"He… killed his parents?" Jade said. Faith just nodded and brushed past Jade, heading for her room. Jade turned. "Hey! Where are you going?"

"To bed, there's nothing else to do right now." She said plainly. She slammed the door behind her before Jade could reply with anything and curled up on the bed, pressing her head into the white pillow as more tears fell.

_Kesh left… and it's my fault…!_

* * *

Faith slowly cracked her eyes open and groaned at how they felt; they were heavy and sore from her crying last night. She shifted slightly and felt the damp surface rub against her cheek, feeling cold and damp. Sitting up, Faith looked around, blinking to try and get rid of the feeling in her eyes. The air felt dry and crisp, lingering over every object in sight.

Faith sighed and threw the covers away from her, changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She glanced out the window as the booming sound of thunder rattled the panes of her windows, streaks of rain water slashed along the glass. Lightning flashed in the sky as Faith sighed and walked down stairs for breakfast.

Jade looked up from her bowl of cereal as Faith walked down. "Hey, Faith!" Jade said, uneasiness flickering in her eyes. She raised her hand and waved slightly before asking, "Want to join me for breakfast?"

Faith stared at her friend before shrugging. "Yeah, sure." She grabbed her own bowl of cereal and sat with Jade. She plunged her spoon into the food before stirring it slowly, coating each piece with white milk. Jade watched her carefully, hesitation flickering in her eyes as she tapped her fingers against the table rhythmically, staring at Faith.

"So…" She said slowly, trying to start a conversation, "What do you want to do today?"

Faith shrugged and sighed. "I don't know… there never really is anything to do around here anyways."

Jade narrowed her eyes. "What about yesterday and the days before that?"

Faith just spooned some cereal into her mouth, chewing slowly as her eyes stared at the table lifelessly. Jade crossed her arms and glared at Faith. "Faith…"

"What?" Faith snapped, swallowing her food quickly and pinpointing Jade with furious green eyes.

Jade glared steadily back and tapped one of her fingers on her other arm. "Just because Kesh left doesn't mean you can act like some emo bitch to everyone!" She ground her teeth together as Faith flinched at his name. "Look… I understand that you're unhappy, but that still doesn't give you the right to snap at everyone you see!"

"Since when have you cared?" Faith shot back, her blind fury causing her eyes to flash. She leaned forward, closer to the other girl. "All that you seem to care about is Luke! Not to mention that you were always picking on Kesh, never once thinking about how that affected him!"

"Excuse me? Haven't you ever heard of _teasing_?" Jade growled. "You were laughing! You were goading me to do more of it to him!"

"Oh really? Does that mean that you have no smarts about people's emotions? You're so stupid! I hate you!"

An awkward silence set in around the two, dark emerald green and light emerald green staring each other down. Jade stared at Faith a bit longer before standing and pushing her chair in behind her. "… Fine then," she said, "if that's how you feel, then forget I even tried to help you through his." She walked off, vanishing behind the counter as Faith stood and stared after her.

Faith blinked at the counter, her eyes feeling warm and threatening to spill over in tears. She inhaled deeply and turned away from the table, heading upstairs. _I'm acting like such a stubborn child…_she though morosely. She pushed the door to her room open, slamming it behind her as she flopped back down onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling as warm tears finally slid out of the corners of her eyes. _Why am I crying like this…? And where is Kesh?_

-----------------

Jade's fingers tapped on the wooden counters as she thought over Faith's heated words. "Oh really? Does that mean that you have no smarts about people's emotions? You're so stupid! I hate you!" She winced at the last statement. She was probably just going through a really hard time right now… _but that still doesn't make it right for her to scream that at me. _She though crossly.

She turned as the sound of soft footsteps came up from behind her. Luke's black eyes stared at Jade, prying at her before saying, "What's the verdict of the argument?"

Jade's eyes widened slightly at his question. "You… heard us?" she asked softly. Luke lightly smiled and nodded. Jade sighed and hung her head. "If you heard us… then you should know."

Luke shrugged and pushed his hands into his pants pockets. He leaned against one of the shelves that were pressed against the wall, his black hair blending in with the shadows. "I still didn't get to see who walked away first…"

"I did." Jade said simply, leaning back against the counter. "Faith pissed me off, so I walked away." She shrugged. "If she's going to act like a brat, then why even bother talking to her."

Luke stared at her, his black eyes unblinking as he processed her words. After a few seconds, he finally said, "Maybe Faith was right… about you having no smarts about emotions…"

Jade glared at Luke sharply, anger already pulsing through her veins. "I do too understand emotions! I'm a girl remember! Faith just needs to suck it up and… and…" Her voice trailed off as she looked back at Luke's calm face. She sighed softly. "I… do suck at emotions… don't I?"

Luke blinked. "Yep. On the highest level possible." He pulled away from the shelf and faced her fully. "Faith was obviously attached to Kesh and is going through a hard time, so she just needs some time to think things over and cool off… not someone fueling fights with her." He turned around and walked off, blending into the shadows silently.

Jade stared at where he was standing before saying, "Then why don't you comfort her if you're so great with this stuff?"

"Because," Jade jumped as Luke's wolf form appeared next to her, his amber eyes glinting in the half-light, "Boys don't have the same effect as girls… and it would be awkward to say that to her." He lifted his hind leg and began to scratch behind his ear methodically.

Jade sighed and ruffled his neck fur playfully, grinning as annoyance sprouted in his eyes. "Boys…" she mumbled.

* * *

Rain pounded on the tree leaves outside, causing Faith to stare out of the dirtied glass out of boredom. How long had it been already? A few hours no doubt… Faith's eyes felt sore again, her skin feeling sticky and dense from her dried tears. Her mind slowly thought over everything once more, more fury and pain at her actions invading her mind to where she hated herself even more.

The sheets rustled as she slowly sat up, groaning as a sharp stab of pain slashed through her head. Faith rubbed her forehead slowly, mumbling a few words as more sparks of pain grew in her skull. "Headache already…?" She muttered. It was most likely 11 o'clock at the moment, and Jade was probably serving some guests at the inn right now…

As if on cue, a knock echoed from the door, causing a slight shock of pain to flow through her head. "Hey… Faith?" Jade's uncertain voice reached Faith's ears slowly, causing her to shift slightly on the sheets. "Can I come in?"

Faith sighed. What more could either of them screw up? She twisted around and looked at the door before saying, "Yeah, sure, come on in…" She winced as the sound of the door hinges squeaking only made her head hurt even more. _Am I just prone to random pains?_ She thought as she sat up in bed as Jade closed the door behind her and walked to stand in the center of the room.

They stared at each other for a while; an awkward silence already swarming around them. Faith chewed on her tongue as she waited for Jade to say that first word. _Come on… say something!_ She thought as Jade shuffled her feet and glanced around the room. The awkward silence was only punctured as Faith cleared her throat and sat up straighter in the bed. She opened her mouth to say something along the lines of, "well… what did you want to talk about?" when Jade finally seemed to have enough of the silence.

"Ok! I'm sorry! Alright? I'm sorry I was short with you, and thought that you were tough like me- I mean tough to where you can just forget about somebody that just left a few hours ago! Maybe I am stupid… after all, I couldn't even help my own best friend through her problems, and I let you hate me. In fact, you have _every _right to hate me-"

"Whoa! Whoa, Jade!" Faith said raising her hands and spreading her fingers apart in a "stop" signal. "You can stop rambling…! After all… I do have a headache from crying so much…"

Jade looked down at her feet before looking back up at Faith. "Sorry…"

Faith smiled and rubbed her temples, gritting her teeth as only more pain came with it. "Hey… it's ok," she said as she slowly slid off the bed and walked over to Jade, "I wasn't exactly acting like the most peaceful woman in the world, either." She smiled again and sat down on the chest at the foot of her bed, still rubbing her temples as she said, "I'm sorry for screaming at you – you know I don't really hate you, right?"

Jade laughed, placing her hands on her hips. "How can anyone hate me?" she said jokingly, before becoming serious again and saying, "Yeah, I know… not very many people say that unless it's in a dire situation or something." She shrugged and crouched in front of Faith. "And I forgive you."

Faith grinned at her. "I forgive you too…" she winced again as her headache only increased. She looked at Jade and gave a robotic laugh before saying, "Now that we've made up and all… do you have anything that can fix my headache?"

Jade blinked and straightened up. "Uhm… unless Mrs. Hogart has already taken them, then we should have something… I'll go check!" She turned and ran out of the room, her feet pounding against the floor as she slammed the door behind her.

Faith winced at the noise Jade created; rolling her shoulders in an attempt to relieve the stress… it failed.

* * *

**OH MY GOD!!! PLEASE DO NOT EAT ME!!!!**

**I'm SO sorry for not posting this sooner! I've been busy and lazy, flat out LAZY!!!! But, I have Chapteh 14 out now!!!! :D YAYA!!!!!**

**Ok, I've already started on Chapter 15, and I'm SO EXCITED TO WRITE IT!!! Mainly because of how chapter 16 is after it (and chapter 16 is amazing)… and chapter 15 is good too!**

**Bye! Reviews would be nice! (oh, and sorry about how short Jade and Faith's argument was; I just wanted to finish this chapter!)**


	15. Random Surprises

**Hmm… well, chappie 15 is finally here! I actually tried to make this chapter short (because… well, I want to get to the other chapters!!!) and the end of this chapter is something that I've been waiting for…**

**Here we go!**

"Do I have to go?" Faith moaned as Jade gripped her hand even tighter and dragged her along the streets of the town. Her auburn hair blew wildly about her as a strong breeze whistled through the streets, causing her to reach her other hand up and grip onto a few loose strands as Jade replied, "Yes, you have to go shopping, Faith. _Shopping._"

Faith groaned and hung her head dramatically before pulling back, causing Jade to slow down slightly. "Shopping? As in girly bags and frilly clothes _shopping_!?"

Jade stopped to turn around and grin at her. "Exactly! That shopping!"

Faith groaned again and tried to plant her feet on the ground to stop Jade, but Jade only increased her speed and tugged on Faith again, causing her to stumble and smack her face onto her shoulder. Jade glanced over her shoulder and laughed, "Don't get _too_ excited, Faith! Because the fun has just begun!"

Faith looked away again, muttering, "Yeah, fun from Hell…" beneath her breath. She sighed and decided to distract herself by watching the people walk by her. Some wore joyous expressions of laughter, smiles spread across their faces as they told jokes; some were calm and didn't even blink as they… well, walked. Faith nearly opened her mouth to say something to Jade when she was suddenly yanked around to confront a clothing store with a glass display window with a frilly dress inside.

Jade gripped onto Faith's hand tighter, ignoring the 'No, no, no, no, no, NO! I REFUSE TO GO IN THERE!'s and tugged her friend into the store, allowing the door to slam close behind them. Faith glanced around furtively, already hating what she was seeing. Almost everything she saw was either decorated in silk, frills, or some other kind of ruffled bow, but a few "normal" dresses were stacked in a corner.

"Hello." Faith turned to see a cheerful red-head with ice blue eyes watching them with a plastic-Barbie smile on her face. "Can I help you with anything?"

Jade turned and smiled. "No, thank you."

The red-head nodded. "Alright, if you need anything, just let me know!"

Jade smiled again, still dragging Faith to one end of the store. "Ok, we will!" She pulled Faith next to a rack with three cream colored dresses, lace sewn around the shoulders and hem of the skirt. Faith stared at it dully, hating how it looked. But Jade reached up and unhooked one of the dresses off of the rack, holding it to her body to determine if it would fit. She stared down at herself for a moment before turning back to Faith and holding the dress up to her. Faith instantly stared down at it with disdain, already imagining herself in such and outfit.

But Jade's dark green eyes lit up as she said, "Wow, Faith! You would look really cute in that!"

Faith groaned and rolled her eyes. "Ok, no. I refuse to wear anything that is in this store…" _Even if it is somewhat cute…_ Faith blinked at the thought. _…What?_

Jade sighed and took the dress away. "Alright, fine, whatever… but I'm trying it on anyways, and _you're_ going to tell me what you think of it!" She had already begun to drag Faith to the dressing room, the dress in her other hand.

Faith sighed. "Why not just have Luke tell you what he thinks? I'm sure that he'd be a lot more helpful than I!"

Jade chuckled. "Yeah, sure, he'd be _so_ much help – he'd probably just remain silent like he normally is and would just stare at the wall. No, I need a girl's opinion."

"Why do you even need this dress anyways?" Faith asked as they rounded a corner to find a small hallway, five doors on one side while there was a bench on the other. "We're not going to a ball or anything, and I doubt that we'll need it anytime soon."

Jade led Faith over to the bench against the wall. "So? Why not have something like this?" She released Faith's hand, pushing her back onto the bench with her now-free hand. "Now, wait here, ok? You don't have to try anything on."

Faith huffed out a breath and crossed her arms. "Alright, fine, but make it quick."

Jade smiled, leaning forward as she folded her arms behind her back to look innocent. "Aw, I knew you'd understand!" She stood up straight and walked into one of the rooms across from Faith, a sharp _click_ confirming that she'd locked it.

"So, what have you been doing lately, Faith?" Jade asked as the sound of fabric slipping against skin could be heard from inside the small room. "Sometimes whenever I see you, you look as if you're deep in thought."

Faith blinked and glanced down the hall, not wanting to answer the question. She already knew what her response would be, and she didn't want to hear it.

When Jade realized that Faith hadn't answered, she called, "Faith? What have you been thinking about…?" More silence as Faith tried not to say the correct answer. "…Faith? You can tell me, you know…"

Faith sighed; she might as well come out with it. "Well… I've been thinking about maybe going after Kesh…"

Complete silence filled the hallway and dressing room. "What?" Jade said, yanking the door to the dressing room open. She was, thankfully, wearing the cream-colored dress, the light yellow silk hugging her body nicely. "I thought that we'd already had a freaking argument about this a few days ago. Didn't we decide that Kesh was gone and that was that?"

Faith shifted uncomfortably. "Well… yeah. But the way that I figured it, I still know how to track animals; how hard could it be to track a person instead?"

"Uh… let's think about this again." Jade said, standing straighter and crossing her arms. "From what you've told me about what happened, he _flew_, right?"

"But that doesn't-"

"Just answer the question, Faith."

Faith groaned. "Yes, he flew away…"

"Therefore, he won't leave behind any tracks or whatever behind, right?" Jade said, her eyes narrowed.

"You're right, he won't leave any _footprints_, but he will most likely leave behind feathers or something behind, right?" Faith replied, gripping onto the edge of the bench as she swung her legs back and forth. "So, I can probably track him."

Jade sighed and hung her head. "You know, if Kesh was joking around with us, I would call you a stalker…" She looked back at Faith. "But there are tons of hawks, and I'm sure that plenty of hawk feathers that can be found…" she took a step towards Faith. "I understand that you two were really close and all, but that doesn't mean that you should go after him. He doesn't want to be found; why else would he have left leaving nothing behind?"

Faith sighed, hanging her head in defeat. Jade was right; why would Kesh have left leaving nothing behind without leaving anything behind if he wanted to be found? "Yeah… you're right…" Faith whispered. "I won't go after him…"

Jade put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you sad or anything, I just don't want you to go and get even more disappointed than you already are…" She smiled down at Faith before stepping back and twirling around, the skirt on her dress spreading out in delicate waves. "Anyways, onto happier subjects; how do I look?"

Faith laughed as Jade struck numerous poses. "Oh, gorgeous, just gorgeous darling."

"I'm surprised it's not raining today," Faith said, looking up at the cloud-free sunset. After dress shopping, both girls decided to just blow their money on triple-scoop ice cream at the nearest ice cream parlor. Jade had gotten three scoops of chocolate while Faith got one scoop of vanilla, and two scoops of cookies n' cream.

Jade followed her gaze, biting off a chunk of her ice cream and chewing it slowly. "Yeah, you're right," she said, her tongue sounded heavy from the cold, "You would think that it would be pouring like the last few days." She got a devious look in her eyes as she took another bite, leaving her with only one last scoop of ice cream left. "Maybe it's a sign!" She said wildly, leaning in front of Faith and spreading her arms wide, her eyes widened to give her a crazed look along with her large grin.

Faith laughed and said, "Sure… it's a 'sign!'" Faith said, making her voice airy at the word 'sign'. She waved her arms around, careful with her ice cream.

"No." Jade said, her voice still with a silly sound to it. "It's definitely a si-" she stopped talking as her last scoop of ice cream slid off of the cone and landed with a _plop_ on the street. "…gn…"

Faith laughed. "Yeah, a sign that you're ice cream just died…" she said as she licked her ice cream, which had two scoops left.

Jade narrowed her eyes and growled, "Shut up…" before pushing Faith. Faith gasped, nearly dropping her ice cream in the process. Jade grinned and reached forward, yanking the said dessert out of her friend's hand, licking it swiftly.

Faith glared at Jade as she stood up. "That's so not fair…!" She said crossing her arms as Jade took a bite out of the cookies n' cream scoop of ice cream. She stared innocently back at Faith. "What?" Faith said a slight grin on her face.

Jade shrugged, licking her ice cream. "Nothing, just that I'm getting kinda bored… and it's getting pretty late… Wanna head back to the inn?"

Faith shrugged, "Sure." The two turned around and began walking back to the inn, Jade still eating Faith's ice cream as Faith turned to Jade and asked, "Can I have my ice cream back?"

Jade got quiet before shoving the whole scoop into her mouth, causing Faith to gawk at her friend as she chewed it with difficulty before swallowing. Jade handed the cone back to Faith. "Now you can have it back." Faith grasped the cone, staring down at the last scoop before slowly eating it, shaking her head at the image of Jade stuffing her face with ice cream.

The two continued walking, the sunset still setting into darkened twilight. As the first of the many twinkling stars appeared in the sky, the inn finally came into view. Jade ran forward, calling back to Faith, "I'm going to go ahead and check on something… don't rush on getting home, ok?"

Faith blinked as Jade reached the inn, walking inside and closing the door behind her. She sighed and ate the remaining bit of her ice cream, munching on the cone as she neared the inn. _Well… today was boring… _she thought as she glanced around, noticing the drop in people on the streets. Faith blinked and glanced into the shadows, her head filled with the crunching sound of her ice cream cone. _Hmm… wonder where Luke has been this whole time…_ she thought as she stared into the shadows. As if on cue, a pair of amber eyes blinked open from the shadows of an alleyway, pupils dilating in the darkness.

Faith smiled as the black wolf stepped forward. "Hey, Luke," Faith said as he approached, "did you have a good day today?"

Luke shook his body, his midnight fur fluffing out. "No… not really…" he sighed, sitting down to scratch himself behind his ear with his hind leg. "All I did was sit around and sleep…" he eyed the last remaining bit of her ice cream cone as he lowered his leg. "Hey…" he said slowly, his eyes widening to give him a cute look as he pinned his ears back and whined pitifully. "Can I have that…?" He whined again, nudging her leg. "Please?"

Faith sighed and held the cone out to him. "Fine…" she sighed as his ears perked up and his muzzle shot forward, seizing the food in his fangs before eating it quickly. Faith shook her head as his tongue swept along his jaws. "I don't get how dogs can eat that fast…" she murmured.

Luke stood, padding alongside Faith as they began walking over to the inn. "I don't know, it's just instinct, you know? Kind of like how you know how to do certain things with your +anima… same thing with Kesh…"

Faith sighed, hating how everyone spoke as if they needed to be careful about saying the word 'Kesh' near her. "Yeah, that's right. Like when Kesh forced me to eat raw meat once, it felt like I was supposed to eat it, and I actually liked it, odd enough…"

Luke tilted his head. "Yeah, exactly…" he said, sounding distant. Faith noticed this, staring at his intelligent eyes as they thought of something.

"What is it?" Faith finally asked. Luke looked up at her, his furry ears rotating a few degrees as he asked, "Do you… hear something?"

"What…?" Faith asked. She stopped and concentrated on the sounds around her, but shook her head as the only sounds were of the streets and night. "Nothing… what do you hear?"

"A raven, don't you hear it?" Luke asked, the inn's cheerful golden light glowing out of the windows.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Faith let her +anima form take hold of her. It had been a while since she'd last used it, and it felt good to feel the comforting warmth that spread through her body as two fox ears popped out of the top of her head and sharp vulpine teeth formed in her mouth. She swiveled her black-tipped ears around, angling them upwards at a few points to catch the sound from above. Just when she was about to give up, she blinked as the croaking of a raven filled her ears. She turning to Luke, nodding her head to show that she'd heard it.

By now, the inn was right next to them, and no one was in sight as Faith slid her fox ears back into her head, the warmth fading as she whispered, "I heard it… but I don't get how it's that big of a deal."

Luke sighed and shook his shaggy head. "Yeah, guess so…" he mumbled. He nodded towards the inn's front door. "You go on ahead; I'll just stay out here for a while and turn back into a human, ok?"

Faith nodded. "Ok, see ya', Luke." Luke merely nodded as Faith opened the door and slipped inside. Her shadow was instantly thrown against the wall, darkened by the fire's warm glow.

"Hey!" Faith turned to see Jade standing behind the counter, a dish in one hand and a rag in the other. "Finally, you're here. What took you so long?"

Faith shrugged. "Oh, nothing much, just met up with Luke and we talked for a while."

"Oh, where was Luke, anyways?" Jade asked as she dried the dish she was holding, only to set it down and pick up another that was in the pile on the opposite side of the sink.

Faith shrugged. "He was pretty vague, so I can't say for sure; he just said that he sat around and slept all day…"

"Oh…" An awkward silence filled the room before Jade said, "Anyways, what should we do tomorrow? After all, I have no work again tomorrow."

"I don't know maybe we could just go hang out in the field or something…" Faith said, making her way over to the stairs. "I'm going to go to bed, ok? See you tomorrow!"

Jade waved. "Ok, good night, Faith!"

Faith smiled slightly as she walked up the stairs, the small creaking sound that they made sounding like home to her. _When _am _I supposed to pay rent, anyways?_ She thought as she made it to the top step and began walking to her room. She shrugged and stopped in front of the door to her room, feeling dread settle in her stomach as realization hit her. _Aw, crap! Kesh had all the money!_ She thought as she gripped the door handle. She sighed and shook her head as she opened the door. "Whatever," she mumbled, closing the door behind her, "I guess I'll just have to-"

"Mumbling to yourself again, Faith?"

Faith froze, her heart feeling as if it had just frozen due to shock. Could it really be…? She slowly lifted her head and stared at the silhouette that was sitting so casually on her window sill, leaning back against the wall as if everything was normal.

Faith stared, feeling as if she was in a dream. "Kesh…?"

"Sir, there's something I need to talk to you about…"

"What?" the man said, his hands flipping through the stack of paperwork that was set in front of his desk. He glanced up to look at the small boy quietly, before sighing and waiting for a reply.

"Well you see, sir, our spy seems to be getting off task…"

The man looked up, slight annoyance in his eyes. "What do you mean, 'off task'?"

The boy fidgeted. "Well… he seems very distracted, and he hasn't sent us a report in a few weeks, so I was just…"

"Just what? Wasting my time? I've already sent two of our best trackers down there to find him." The man growled before standing up. "I will not tolerate you coming in like this to tell me such useless information, now go!"

The boy swallowed uneasily before saying, "Y-Yes sir!" and turning around. But before he left the room he said, "But… sir? We've already sent the raven, and he did reply back…"

The man froze. "Did he now…?" he said softly. He shook his head and said, "Leave, I have work to do." The boy did as he was told, leaving the man as he grinned to himself and sat back down in his chair, leaning back to prop his feet up on his desk. "So… you didn't abandon us, did you?" he muttered to himself as a smile spread across his face.

"Time to come home!"

"K-Kesh," Faith stammered, her eyes not believing what she was seeing, "Y-y-you're…"

"Back?" Kesh replied, doing his usual smirk before sliding off of the window sill and walking over to Faith. Faith's shocked expression was still planted on her face, not believing what she was seeing.

He stood in front of her, leaf green staring into crystal blue.

"Kesh…" Faith said, joy already moving inside of her. She stepped forward, not really realizing what she was doing until her arms had already wrapped themselves around his lean chest while her head rested on his shoulder.

Kesh held still for a moment, staring down at the girl hugging him. He grinned and wrapped his arms around her body.

Faith sighed and closed her eyes. "I can't believe you're back." She whispered.

Kesh grinned even more. "Yeah," He said, "I can't really either."

Faith then pulled away, staring up at her friend. A thought occurred to her, causing her to say, "We've got to tell the others! Jade and Luke will be so happy that you're back!"

Faith began to turn towards the door, only to feel that Kesh's arms had slid to where his hands were on her hips, and wasn't letting go.

She turned back to Kesh, a confused look on her face. "Kesh? What is it?"

Kesh gazed down at her, his eyes clouded with some emotion Faith couldn't quite identify.

"Kesh? Seriously, what is i-"

Her words were cut off as Kesh leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

Faith's eyes widened, staring at Kesh's closed ones, not exactly knowing what to do.

She just stood there, almost like a statue as Kesh seemed to ignore her utter shock and continued with the kiss.

That was until her arms came back up and wrapped themselves around his warm neck, along with her eyes closing.

Kesh pulled her closer to where she was pressed against him fully. Faith tilted her head to the side a bit, deepening the kiss.

Faith's mind was pretty much mush at the moment. She was being kissed… by Kesh… after he returned… she was being kissed…

Just when she felt as if her brain might explode from all the confusion, Kesh pulled away. He took a step back to where only their arms were touching. He grinned at her in the blue-tinged moonlight, blue eyes sparkling.

He leaned forward and kissed her once more, before pulling away fully and walking over to the door. He opened it to where the dim light of the hallway poured in, before looking over his shoulder and saying, "Good night, Faith."

And then… he left.

Faith stared at the door for a while, thinking that maybe he'd come back and talk, but the door never budged.

She narrowed her eyes at the door in confusion. _What…_ She thought slowly before sighing. Faith shook her head and made her way to her bed, flopping down onto the soft sheets. She closed her eyes, accepting the darkness it brought.

But the only thing that she could think of was the image of her and Kesh kissing in the center of her room.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
*sniffles* So KAWAII!!! 3**

**Lol, so how was it? And HOW WAS THE KISSING SCENE!? :D I was pretty nervous writing it, since I've written them before, just never showed them to peeps…**

**I wrote this scene like MONTHS ago!!! So the writing is pretteh old…**

**Anyways! The next chapter will be pretty small… but I hope that I'll be able to add some stuff that will lengthen it!**

**Bye!**


	16. Secrets

**Meh.**

**Yeah, you know the routine…**

_Who the hell does Kesh think he is? _Faith thought as she sat up in bed the next morning. She threw back the sheets and slowly walked to the door, rubbing sleep out of her eyes as her furious thoughts pulsed through her brain. _Does he think that it's courtesy to just return from Hell knows where and then just kiss me like there's nothing to it?_ She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, looking down at herself to make sure that she didn't look gross or anything (what, with sleeping in her clothes and all). _That bastard had better have a good excuse for why he was gone! And a good reason for kissing me too!_

The hallway seemed longer than usual as Faith neared the staircase, the floorboards creaking as usual. She had just put her foot down on the first staircase when she heard, "So, where have you been this whole time, Kesh?"

Faith blinked at Jade's voice. _Oh… so he's already awake… oh well, that will make this _way _easier than it was going to be!_ She thought as she slowly descended the staircase.

The lobby soon came into view, revealing Kesh sitting backwards on a chair so that his legs were on either side of it while his arms were crossed on top of it along with Jade and Luke sitting in chairs next to him. Kesh shrugged at Jade's question. "I've just been flying around, trying to clear my head a bit of harsh memories." He gave a small grin, causing Faith to grin too.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ She thought, wiping the grin off her face.

"Wow… that whole parent thing is pretty personal, huh?" Jade said, leaning forward so that her hand was resting in her hand.

Kesh shrugged again. "Well, yeah… it's not exactly the happiest memory in my life… and I did overreact, so I wouldn't say it's any of your faults." He looked from Jade to Luke, a sorry look in his eyes.

Luke shrugged. "It's ok, we understand."

Jade laughed. "Yeah, sure, just don't fly off, ok? We missed you!"

Kesh chuckled. "Yeah… I would think so." He blinked and stopped talking as Faith finally stepped onto the lobby's hardwood floor. Faith stared back at him, the word "dumbass" flashing through her mind as their eyes met.

Noticing Kesh's look, she turned to look at Faith. "Oh, hey! You're awake! Can you believe it? Kesh is back!"

Faith nodded. "I know; he talked to me last night." She said, breaking the stare and walking closer to the table.

Jade stared at Faith with her mouth hanging open. "You what? Why didn't you tell me?"

Faith grinned slightly. "Sorry, I was pretty tired…"

Jade wiggled her eyebrows. "Tired from what? Did Kesh… tire you out?"

"Hey!" Kesh snapped his face already a shade of pink as Jade and Luke burst into laughter. "I am not that bad!"

Faith grinned. It seemed as if everything was back to normal, back to perverted jokes aimed at her and Kesh and everyday conversations… _But he still kissed me and left me hanging…_ Faith thought, snapping her out of her happy thoughts as the laughter died down and Jade and Luke were leaning across the table to each other to whisper things to each other like the little secret-keepers they were. _And besides, he's such a dumbass that's…_

_Staring at me._

Faith blinked as she realized that Kesh had already turned his blue gaze back to her, looking over the hunched bodies of Jade and Luke to stare at her. Faith's thoughts seemed to come to a stop as she remembered the kiss from the night before, her face heating up instantly. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um… I'm going to take a walk, ok?" Without waiting for a reply, she walked over to the door and left the inn, still feeling Kesh's eyes on her back.

She didn't even stay behind to make sure that the door closed behind her as she hurried down the street. _Great… I'm acting stupid again!_ She thought frustratingly as she continued walking, weaving through the ranks of people in the street. She tilted her head back and looked up at the sky, blinking as the morning sun hit her eyes instantly. "At least it's a good morning…" she said quietly.

"I know right?" Faith jumped and snapped her head back down so that she was looking forward again as Kesh's voice sounded behind her. _Damn._ She looked behind her to see him fold his arms behind his head, clasping his fingers together. "It's a really great morning, great for flying too."

"Heheh… yeah… sure…" Faith said awkwardly. _Man up, Faith! This is no big deal, ok? No big…_

"I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now…" Kesh said slowly, looking at her fully.

Faith glanced back at him. "Really?" She turned down a corner, not really paying attention to where she was going. "About what?"

Kesh sighed and moved around her so that he was walking backwards in front of her. "I'm sure you can figure that out, can't you…?"

Faith blinked, slowing down slightly and realizing their location. Faith looked around the alleyway that they were in, noticing that no one was around as she said, "Are you talking about last night?"

Kesh slowed down also, nodding and shoving his hands into his pockets. "Yep." He shrugged. "But I really don't think it's that big of a deal."

Faith's eyes instantly narrowed. "Not a big deal? So kissing a girl is no big deal? How many girls have you ever kissed in your life, Kesh?" She walked past Kesh, stopping as she realized that the alleyway that they were walking down led to a shadowy dead-end.

"That's not what I meant!" Kesh said, walking up to her. He actually looked awkward as he said, "What I meant was that you actually-"

"Aw; look at the happy couple." The two teens froze as the calm voice echoed out from the shadows of the alleyway. "Aren't they just _darling_ today?"

Faith instantly looked into the shadows at the end of the alleyway. A boy that looked about their age stepped out of the shadows, his hands placed in his light denim jeans pockets so that his thumbs hung out the top of them. Dark chocolate brown hair dominated his head, a section of it hanging over his right eye in a semi emover. A navy blue and white cap was set onto his head. He wore a black shirt; a navy blue hoodie with white drawstrings covered his torso loosely. His violet eyes shone in the sunlight as he smiled and said, "Aren't they, Russet?"

A second teen stepped out of the shadows, shaggy dirty blonde hair covering his head. He was slightly taller than the other boy and wore bleached denim jeans, rips prominent around his knees and shins, the frayed edges seeming to be slightly longer than they should be. He also wore a light blue shirt with a red logo spread across the front of it, the corners peeling off from use.

Russet glanced over at the other boy, his brown eyes registering Kesh and Faith as he looked back at them. "Yeah, sure, so darling…" he mumbled. He blinked and focused his eyes on Faith, scanning her body while she glared back at him.

The other teen smirked. "Of course they are…" He grinned again as he took in Faith for himself. "Damn, Kesh, I didn't think that you would find a girlfriend so fast… and a hot one at that."

Faith raised an eyebrow, already feeling disdain for the two strangers. Until she registered just what they'd said. She turned to Kesh. "Kesh… do you know them?"

The said boy remained silent, staring at the two boys with a guarded expression on his face. Faith stared at him, turning back to the other two teens as the dark-haired boy chuckled. "Well, can't say I blame him to pretend to not know us; after all, I'm sure that with you here that he doesn't want to remember." He took a step closer to Kesh, a sneer on his face as he said, "Isn't that right, Kesh?"

Kesh's eyes instantly narrowed as he stood straighter, staring eye-to-eye with the violet-eyed teen. "Rogue, I was wondering when you'd get here."

Rogue laughed, his mouth spreading into a wide smile. "See? I knew you'd remember!" He said enthusiastically, causing Faith to stare with confusion clear on her face. "So… did you bring any?"

Kesh shook his head. "Nope. Got away faster than I thought."

"Faster than you thought? What the hell? That's not like you, Kesh…" Rogue glanced over at Faith. "Then again, maybe they just _slipped_ away while you slipped into a relationship."

Kesh flinched slightly at Rogue's suggestion. "Sorry to disappoint, but no. They just got away."

Rogue leaned forward, studying Kesh's eyes carefully. "Why do I get the sense that you're lying?" When Kesh didn't answer, Rogue jerked away from him and said, "You know, Kesh…" He opened his mouth, revealing rows of sharp canine teeth, causing Faith to stare. "I just hate when people lie to me…"

"I told you the truth, ok?" Kesh said, his expression still guarded. "I don't have anyone-"

"Liar!" Before Kesh could do anything, Rogue lept forward, teeth bared and aimed for Kesh. Kesh jumped to the side, managing to only get a slight cut on his arm. He balled his hand into a fist and punched Rogue harshly on the side of his head. Rogue let out a slight whimper before turning and jumping at Kesh again, latching onto his arm this time. Kesh ground his teeth together, working on shaking Rogue loose, but Rogue still remained on his arm, blood leaking from Kesh's arms around his fangs. "Get it, Kesh?" Rogue growled, Kesh's arm still in his mouth. "I can tell when you're lying… all I have to do is look in your pretty little eyes and-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND SOMEONE GIVE ME A GOOD EXPLANATION BEFORE I DECIDE TO KICK ALL OF YOUR ASSES SO HARD THAT YOU WON'T JUST FEEL IT IN THE MORNING; YOU'LL FEEL IT NEXT YEAR!" Faith finally exploded. Her hands were clenched into fists and her light green eyes were narrowed down to slits at the sight of Kesh being attacked by Rogue. She was tired of just standing there having stupid jokes about her body said about her when she was standing not five feet away.

Kesh stopped fighting and looked at Faith with a shocked yet amused expression on his face. Rogue peered back at Faith out of the corners of his eyes. He slowly released Kesh's arms, his tongue swiping out to wipe the blood off of his canines while Kesh pressed his hand to the bloody bite mark on his arm. Rogue looked from Faith to Kesh, an odd look in his eyes as the grin vanished from his face, replaced with a curious one as he turned back to Kesh. "You mean you didn't tell her?"

Once again, Kesh grew silent; focusing his attention on his wound while Rogue raised his eyebrows and chuckled darkly. "My my, Kesh… it seems as if we're not the only ones keeping secrets."

"Secrets…?" Faith said softly, watching Rogue yet keeping an eye on Russet out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, that's right; secrets. Because, you see, your little friend here isn't as innocent as he seems. In fact, his whole job isn't innocent!" He glanced at Kesh, obviously enjoying the audacity of revealing Kesh's secret. "He comes from the same facility as us – a facility that involves capturing and taking in +anima just like us."

Faith's insides seemed to turn cold at those words. "W-What do you mean…?"

"What we mean," Russet said, walking next to Rogue with his own sadistic smile on his face, "is that Kesh's job is to seek and gather +anima…"

"Then he returns them to us." Rogue finished, crossing his arms. "You see, Kesh is the best seeker of the whole facility, so our boss sends him out all the time… and Kesh _always_ finds someone… After all, he's the best deceiver in the whole business." Rogue slowly began to walk around Faith, his eyes watching her as he continued. "He would just talk to them, acting like he was lost or something, and then let them know that he's on his way to Bruckford and that they're welcome to join. So they will, naturally, and he brings them hear… straight to us…" He stopped behind Faith, placing a hand on her shoulder as he said, "Looks like your little boyfriend is another scum like the rest of us… And he's the worst of us all!" He pushed Faith lightly, returning to Russet's side as she stumbled slightly. Her eyes felt dry from how wide they'd remained over the past minutes, and her insides felt as if they consisted of ice blocks. Very, very cold ice blocks.

"That… that can't be true…" Faith whispered, staring down at the ground.

"Oh believe me," Russet said, "it's true, just go ahead and ask him yourself, I'm sure he won't lie to you!"

Faith's head snapped up at the offer. She turned to Kesh, taking only a few steps towards him as she asked, "Kesh is this true? I mean… is this really true…?"

Kesh didn't even glance up at her, just applied pressure to the bite on his arm as he still stared down at the ground. Faith took a step away from him. "No…" she whispered quietly as the answer became apparent.

"Oh, yes." Russet said, stretching as if it was perfectly normal to have such disturbing conversations. "After all, haven't you heard that raven?" Faith blinked at the mention of the raven, causing Russet to continue. "Yeah, she-"

Russet didn't get to finish as Rogue punched him roughly in the face, a bruise already forming as Rogue hissed, "Don't tell her everything you dipshit!" He whirled around to face Kesh again. "Anyways, you need to come back to the lab; the boss is in need of us."

Kesh barely moved, the blood drying on his hand and arm as Russet moved towards Kesh, hooking his arms beneath his armpits. Finally, Kesh snapped. He thrashed in Russet's arms, his eyes looking wild as he snarled, "Let me go! I refuse to go back! No! Stop!"

Rogue sighed, stepping forward and punching Kesh roughly in the stomach. Kesh let out a large lungful of air before hanging his head, looking utterly defeated. He took in a few shaky breaths before lifting his head up and making eye contact with Faith. "H-Hey… Faith… y-you've gotta believe me! I've changed! I'm serious! Please, don't let them take me away! I-" he was cut off as Rogue punched him in the stomach once more, another airy sigh and groan escaping the boy's lips.

Faith stared down at Kesh. About five minutes ago, he was the nicest guy she'd ever met… about five minutes ago, he was happy and cheerful, ready to do just about anything… about five minutes ago, he was sweet and funny… about five minutes ago, he was her best friend…

Faith looked away and down at the dirtied cobblestone streets, her hair shadowing her eyes. She refused to look at him, because she knew her heart would break, that she would break down in tears right there in front of the three strangers before she knew it. She turned her back to Kesh and said, "Take him away…"

The alleyway grew silent, almost hesitant at her words. "What…?" Kesh finally breathed, sounding as if he was in pain.

Faith whirled around, her eyes flashing with fury and sorrow as she snapped, "I said take him away, ok? Take this bastard out of my sights!" She could already feel tears forming in her eyes at the sight of Kesh's shocked and pained expression. "I never want to see him again… ever!"

Rogue smiled at her, tipping his cap mockingly. "Why, thank you, ma'am… glad you think that!"

Faith swallowed the lump in her throat, already feeling her tears slither down her cheeks as she whirled around and ran out of the alleyway, tearing her heart even farther apart with each step and each tear.

…**.So… how many of you hate me now?**

**So, Kesh is the villain. Shocking, right? Well, if you think about it, it's not that shocking, I assure you. I'd love to discuss how this is possible, but I promise that I will put a big-ass author's note on the last chapter explaining EVERYTHING, including any questions that you may have. Also, I will have a 'thank you reviewers' panel, so if u want your name in, then I suggest you start reviewing!**

**Until next time, see ya!**

**- Blue.**


	17. Decisions

**Chapter 17! We're getting closer to the end!**

**But don't worry, there's still plenty of stuff you need to be informed about first! ^_^**

**Enjoy and review please!**

"…Ok, so let me get this straight: Kesh was a spy this whole time?" Jade said slowly. Immediately after Kesh had been dragged off by Rogue and Russet, Faith had instantly rushed back to the inn to inform Jade and Luke about her grim news. It didn't help that she cried the whole way there, and that she'd burst through the door with fresh tears sliding down her cheeks.

Faith nodded slowly, rubbing away another tear that was squeezed out of her eye. "I guess so…" She said softly, not looking up into her friend's eyes.

Luke just stared at Faith silently, boring holes into the side of her head like a hot iron. Faith fidgeted under his gaze, wishing that he would just avert his eyes.

"…That little dipshit!" Faith jumped at Jade's exclamation. She looked up to find Jade's dark green eyes in a storm of fury. "If I ever get my hands on that little asshole…!" She let her sentence hang in the air as Luke finally turned his eyes to her, his look mirroring Faith's.

"Um… are you ok?" Faith asked. Jade looked back at her - apparently not.

"No!" She shouted. "I fucking trusted him! I thought that he'd…" She trailed off, biting her lip in embarrassment.

"Thought that he'd… what?" Faith asked. Her curiosity was now alive at her friend's words. And, for some reason, something else was lit in her too…

Jade sighed and looked down at the floor. "Nothing. Just… nothing." She snapped her head back up to where she was staring at Faith. "Anyways, how come you were acting so odd this morning?"

It was Faith's turn to look embarrassed. She looked down at the wood floor of the inn's lobby. She didn't want to tell them, but there was no avoiding it now.

"He… Kesh…" She inhaled deeply and looked back up at Jade, trying to force down the heated blush that was creeping up her face. "He… landed on my window sill, and walked up to me…" Jade just stared at her harder. "… And then I hugged him, and he hugged me back…"

Jade stared at Faith harder. "Go on." She said.

Faith fidgeted and finally said. "And then… he kissed me." Silence filled the room instantly; you could hardly even hear Faith's breathing. "There: he kissed me."

The silence was soon broken as Jade suddenly burst out laughing. Faith lifted her head to stare at Jade, confused at Jade's smiling face and boisterous laughter. "What?" She asked, feeling irked at how amusing her friend thought this was.

Jade wrapped her arms around her mid-section, putting pressure on the cramp that had formed there. Through pants, she said, "I was wondering when he'd finally make a move…!" Faith stared at her, her mouth slightly open.

"Wait – you _knew_ about this?" Faith said as Jade slowly became calm again.

Jade inhaled a few shaky breaths, her arms slowly uncoiling themselves from around her body. "Yeah… it was pretty obvious." She grinned at Faith. "I mean, didn't you notice how different he was towards you?" When Faith didn't answer, Jade continued, "So, I confronted him and he admitted after a few… tries."

Faith raised her eyebrows at the word "tries". "Um… what do you mean by that…?"

"Let's just say that this +anima comes in handy sometimes…" Jade said ominously. She grinned and winked before smiling. "Wow… so he actually got the guts to do it…" she shook her head, obviously talking to herself at the moment. "Hmm… I wonder if he'll ever talk to her in detail about what he thinks… and-"

"Ok, Jade? Stop talking to yourself; it's kinda creepy." Faith said, giving Jade a concerned stare. "And, can you please explain this to me piece by piece? I'm not exactly having the happiest of mornings today."

Jade sighed. "Alright, fine…" She crossed her arms over her mid-section and crossed her legs. Both Luke and Faith focused on Jade as she sighed and said, "Well… where is there to begin, my little oblivious Faith? I mean; honestly. You couldn't tell that he had a crush on you?" She smirked and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but if there is something even more obvious, then I'd like to see and/or hear it!"

"Gee… thanks, this is making me feel _so_ much better…" Faith said dryly.

Jade smirked again, leaning forward slightly and wagging her finger in Faith's face. "Now, now, let's not get _too_ cranky, Faith-dear!" She returned back to her normal sitting position. "Anyways, he's liked you for a while now, and he never really gathered enough courage to tell you… so, I cornered him in the hallway and forced him to tell me how he liked you and… yeah. That's life!"

Faith raised her eyebrows. "'Life'…?"

"Yes – life!"

"… Ok then…" Faith turned to Luke. "Did you know about this too?"

Luke blinked, his black eyes calculating as he shrugged. "Well… it was pretty obvious…" he said softly. Jade instantly smiled and laughed slightly.

"See, Faith?" Jade said. "It was _really_ obvious!"

"Great…" Faith muttered.

Jade breathed in deeply, quelling her laughter and resting her elbows on her knees. She tilted her head to the side slightly, blinking slowly. "So… what now?" She looked from Faith to Luke, who also began to look at one-another as Jade continued, "What are we going to do now that Kesh is at… wherever?"

Faith fidgeted in her seat at the silence that followed. Jade's question was an interesting one for the fox-+anima. For one, Kesh had been her best friend in her whole life, and was an amazing person to be with… and yet he had been lying to her the whole time, and may have been trying to send her off to whatever place Rogue and Russet came from…

"Faith?" Faith lifted her head as Jade stared at her. "What do you think we should do?"

Faith blinked. "What?"

"You heard me – what should we do?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because, you were there when he was taken, and you two were connected! So, what are we going to do?"

Faith looked down at her feet, still running all of the possibilities and doubts in her head. _He lied to me… but for a good reason… He became my best friend… and that was awesome… He acted like a jerk sometimes… and that was… no comment. And yet…_ She sighed and gripped her head as she finally whispered, "I don't know…"

Jade and Luke remained staring at her, their eyes unblinking. Faith's fingers dug into her hair as she said, "I really don't know… I mean I… I…"

She stopped talking when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head to see Jade's face. "Well… whatever… who needs him anyways… right?"

She smiled down at her friend before turning away and walking towards the doorway, looking at Luke over her shoulder and saying, "Come on, Luke." They both made their way to the stairs, barely lifting their feet to go up the first step when Faith's head finally snapped up.

"I do."

They both froze. Jade looked over her shoulder as Faith stood. "Let's go get him… right now." She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. "So he lied – but it was for our sakes! Nothing big or bad! We… we need him. He's our friend, our Kesh, our… our…" She let her voice trail off as both Jade and Luke stared at her.

Just when she was about to turn around and walk out of the inn, Jade smiled and said, "You know what? What the hell – why not!"

Luke blinked and shrugged with a sigh. "Sure…"

"Exactly Jade – why not?"

**Crappy chapter, no? Chapter 18 is also going to be pretty short, 'kay?**


	18. Discussions

**No life, COMMIN THROUGH!**

"So… how are we going to do this?"

Faith brought an arm up over her head, the feeling of her blood rushing out of the said appendage and throughout the rest of her body an odd comfort. She glanced over at Jade, whom was also lying next to her on the bed as they discussed the plans that we're still very foggy to the three friends.

How to rescue Kesh.

How to bring him home.

Jade shrugged, folding her arms behind her head as she stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know… do you know where this… place is?"

Faith stared up at the ceiling, her eyes closing as he said, "I… don't know…"

Jade was quiet for a while before sighing and sitting up. "Well, we'd better find out, huh?"

Faith rolled onto her side. "Sure, whatever…" She curled her arms and legs and let her mind drift off into thoughts of her and Kesh hanging out together and of their laughter everywhere…

… Wow, she sounded weird.

"Faith?" Faith grunted and barely flipped around when Jade said, "… What if we leave tonight?"

"Yeah." Both girls jumped at Luke's voice, sounding almost like a serial killer's voice as he leaned against the doorframe, eating an apple. He tossed the fruit into the air before catching it and saying, "Why not search tonight?"

Jade looked down at Faith. "… Well… I think she may need some sleep first… you know… after-"

"No…" Faith said after a while, forcing herself to sit up. Her head pounded instantly with a new headache, forcing her to clench her teeth as she said, "Let's… leave tonight…" She slid onto her feet and began to walk forward, only to stumble back and fall back onto the mattress.

Jade looked down at her. "No. You need to rest, Faith."

"No I don't." Faith said through clenched teeth, she began to get up again, only to be restricted by Jade's hands that held down her shoulders.

"Listen, I know that you miss Kesh… we all do," Jade said as Luke drew closer to the bed, "But that doesn't mean that you can just go ahead and go searching for him, only to collapse in the middle of the forest or… wherever we'll be!" She narrowed her eyes slightly when she noticed that Faith was glaring at her. "And don't give me that stupid look, because that's just crazy for you to deny this!" She gently shoved her onto her side, getting off of the bed and walking to the door, Luke following close behind. "Now get some sleep… we'll wake you up later on, ok?"

Faith glared at them. "I don't need sleep guys! Stop treating me like a-" She was cut off as the door was closed, the sound echoing in the room. Faith growled, obviously annoyed as she flopped back down onto the mattress below her. She shimmied up to her pillow, auburn hair ruffled and frizzed from her sheets as she wrapped her arms around the fluffy square.

… _I hope we find him…_

**I'm officially going to say that RoF is on hiatus! I'm SOOOOO sorry for the late chapter, and how crappy it is! I've been really busy lately, and I don't have much motivation for this story anymore -_-; I'm still working on it, don't worry… but it will be a long time for the next chapter, ok?**

**Again, REALLY SORRY!**


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